REGISTER OF FLOATING CHARGES

Part 2 of the Bankruptcy and Diligence etc (Scotland) Act 2007 (asp 3), which received Royal Assent on 15 January 2007, provides that the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland shall establish a register to be known as the Register of Floating Charges.

The exact format and requirements for the Register will be defined in regulations by the Scottish Ministers under the 2007 Act. It is anticipated that the Register will not commence before April 2009. After the date of commencement of the legislation, a floating charge will be validly created under Scots law only if it is registered in the Register of Floating Charges held by the Keeper.

The intention is that registration in the Keeper’s register will be sufficient to constitute the charge. This will necessitate the removal of the requirement for registration of such charges with the Registrar of Companies. The Companies Act 2006 contains a provision allowing for a charge to be treated as if it had been registered with the Registrar of Companies, provided that the charge in question has been registered in another public register which has a data-sharing agreement with Companies House. The aim is to ensure that information about such charges will continue to be available on a search obtained from Companies House.

The Department of Trade and Industry issued a consultation document on 31 May 2007 entitled Companies Act 2006: Registration of Scottish Floating Charges: a consultative document. This is available at www.dti.gov.uk/files/file39694.pdf

Registers of Scotland has set up a project team to establish the Register of Floating Charges. The team is working closely with Companies House to develop arrangements for data-sharing between Registers of Scotland and Companies House.

For further information, contact: FloatingCharges@ros.gov.uk