Section 707 | Meaning of “control”

(1)This section applies for the purposes of this Chapter.

(2)A person (“P”) is treated as having control of a company (“C”) if P—

(a)exercises,

(b)is able to exercise, or

(c)is entitled to acquire,

direct or indirect control over C's affairs.

(3)In particular, P is treated as having control of C if P possesses or is entitled to acquire—

(a)50% of the share capital or issued share capital of C,

(b)50% of the voting power in C,

(c)so much of the issued share capital of C as would, on the assumption that the whole of the income of C were distributed among the participators, entitle P to receive the greater part of the amount so distributed, or

(d)such rights as would entitle P, in the event of the winding up of C or in any other circumstances, to receive the greater part of the assets of C which would then be available for distribution among the participators.

(4)Any rights that P or any other person has as a loan creditor are to be disregarded for the purposes of the assumption in subsection (3)(c).

(5)If two or more persons together satisfy any of the conditions in subsections (2) and (3) and do so because they acted together to put themselves in a position where they will in fact satisfy the condition, each of them is treated as having control of C.

(6)In this section—

“loan creditor” has the meaning given by section 453, and

“participator” has the meaning given by section 454.

(7)See also section 708 (rights to be attributed for the purposes of this section).