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1 The reasons for forming companies 1

1.1 The elements of a company 3

1.2 Outsiders 5

1.3 ‘Parent’and ‘subsidiary’company 6

1.4 Single member companies 6

Summary 7

Casenote 7

Exercises 9

2.1 Limited and unlimited companies 10

2 Starting a company 10

Preface 10

Table of Cases 11

2.2 Public and private companies 11

2.3 Minimum capital requirements for a public company 12

2.4 Change of status from public to private company and vice versa 13

2.5 Groups 13

2.6 The memorandum of association and registration 15

2.7 Incorporation 16

2.8 Duty of Registrar 17

Summary 18

2.9 Off-the-shelf companies 18

Casenotes 19

Exercises 21

3 Corporate personality 22

Table of Statutes and Directives 23

3.1 The legal basis for the separate personality doctrine 23

3.2 Problems caused by the personality doctrine and exceptions 27

3.3 Statutory intervention 28

3.4 Lifting the veil 28

3.5 Fraud 31

3.6 Groups 32

3.7 The criminal and civil liabilities of companies 40

3.8 What crimes? 41

3.9 Why convict companies? 41

3.10 Identification of the company s alter ego 42

3.11 Civil liability 43

Summary 43

Casenotes 44

Exercises 45

4 The memorandum of association 46

4.1 Ultra vires-the old law 46

4.3 Justification of the doctrine 47

4.2 Constructive notice 47

4.4 How to determine whether an act is ultra vires 48

4.5 The new law 48

4.6 Ratification 50

4.7 The old case law 52

4.8 Objects and powers 54

4.9 Ultra vires and objects 54

4.10 Knowledge by an outsider that a transaction is outside objects or powers 55

4.11 Can borrowing ever be an object? 56

4.12 Recent authorities 57

Summary 60

4.13 Alteration of the memorandum of association 60

Exercises 61

5 The articles of association 62

5.1 The articles as a contract 63

5.2 What rights are governed by the contract in the articles? 64

5.3 Outsiders 65

5.4 The articles as evidence of a contract 68

5.5 Alteration of the articles of association 69

5.6 Bona fide for the benefit of the company 71

5.7 Remedies 74

5.8 Power of directors to bind the company 76

5.9 Protection 78

5.10 Transaction and dealing 78

5.11 Decided on by the directors 78

5.12 Good faith 79

5.13 Unauthorised agents 80

5.14 Usual authority 83

Summary 83

Casenotes 84

Exercises 85

6.1 Who are promoters? 86

6 Promoters 86

6.2 Duties of promoters 87

6.3 Disclosure 88

6.4 The loss of the right to recission 89

6.5 Actions for damages 90

6.6 Remuneration of promoters 90

6.7 Pre-incorporation contracts 90

6.8 Liability of the company 91

Summary 92

Exercises 92

7.2 Direct offers,offers for sale,issuing houses 93

7 Public issue of securities 93

7.1 Shares 93

7.3 The two regimes 94

7.4 Rights offers and public offers 94

7.5 Placing 95

7.6 Pre-emption rights 95

7.7 Authority to issue shares 95

7.8 Director s duties 96

7.9 The structure of the rules 96

7.11 Contents of listing particulars 97

7.10 Admission to Stock Exchange listing 97

7.12 Continuing obligations 98

7.13 Remedies for defective listing particulars 98

7.14 Prospectus issues 101

7.15 Remedies for defective prospectuses 102

7.16 Liabilities for misstatements in prospectuses and listing particulars 102

7.17 The EC Prospectus Directive 103

7.18 Aims of the Directive 104

7.19 Transferable securities 104

Summary 106

Casenotes 107

Exercises 109

8 The regulation of investment business 110

8.1 Futures contracts-an example of how the Financial Services Act 1986 worked 112

8.2 The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000-‘regulated business 113

8.3 How the range of regulatory tools would be used in practice 116

8.4 Financial Services Authority:authorisation provisions 117

8.5 Complaints 119

8.6 The Investment Services Directive 121

Summary 127

Casenotes 128

Exercises 129

9 Maintenance of capital 130

9.1 Fundamental rule 130

9.2 Payment of money to members 131

9.3 Distributions 132

9.4 Rules governing distributions 132

9.5 Dividends 132

9.6 Public companies 134

9.7 Members Liability 134

9.8 Other permitted payments to members 135

9.9 Reductions of capital 135

9.10 Interests of creditors 137

9.11 Procedure 138

9.12 Bonus shares 138

9.13 Redeemable shares and forfeiture of shares 138

9.14 Purchase of own shares 140

9.15 Permitted reductions of capital 141

9.16 Reissue 142

9.17 Public companies 142

9.18 Illegal transactions 142

9.21 Company accounts 149

9.20 Accounts 149

9.19 Serious loss of capital by a public company 149

9.22 FRSs and FREDs 150

9.23 The obligation to prepare accounts 150

9.24 Keeping the records 151

9.25 Accounting reference date 151

9.26 Duty to prepare individual company accounts 151

9.27 Group accounts 152

9.28 Conclusion 153

Summary 154

Exercises 154

10 The baiance of power inside the company:corporate governance 155

10.1 Proxy voting 156

10.2 Solicitation of proxies 157

10.3 Formality of procedure 157

10.4 Elective regime 158

10.5 Meetings 158

10.6 Management of the company 166

10.7 Appointment of directors 167

10.8 Removal of a director 172

10.11 Managing director 175

10.10 Directors meetings 175

10.9 Disqualification 175

10.12 Relationship between the board of directors and the general meeting 177

10.13 Where the board of directors ceases to function 179

10.14 Single member companies 180

10.15 The Secretary 180

10.16 Employees 181

10.17 Denmark 182

10.18 France 182

10.19 Germany 182

10.22 ltaly 183

10.20 The Netherlands 183

10.21 Belgium 183

10.23 Luxembourg 184

10.24 Spain 184

10.25 Greece 184

10.26 Portugal 185

10.27 Ireland 185

10.28 United Kingdom 185

10.29 Creditors 186

Summary 186

Casenotes 187

Exercises 204

11 Directors duties 205

11.1 The Cadbury Report 206

11.2 Duty owed to the company 209

11.3 What is the company? 210

11.4 Duties of care and skill 212

11.5 Fiduciary duties 217

11.6 Are the prohibitions absolute? 218

11.7 The categories of prohibitions or disabilities 219

11.9 Relief from liability 226

11.8 Consequences of a breach 226

11.10 Relief by the court 227

Summary 227

Casenotes 228

Exercises 231

12 Statutory duties of directors 233

12.1 Prohibited transactions 234

12.2 Public companies 234

12.3 General exceptions 234

12.5 Disqualification of directors 235

12.4 Civil remedies and criminal penalties 235

12.6 Insider dealing 250

Summary 259

Casenotes 260

Exercises 268

13 Suing the company,suing for the company,enforcing directors duties 269

13.1 Suing the company 269

13.2 Suing for the company (the exceptions to the rule in Foss v.Harbottle and derivative actions) 269

13.3 Ratification-the improper elevation of majority rule 271

13.4 The statutory remedy in section 459 278

13.5 Unfair prejudice 279

13.6 The relief that can be granted 283

13.7 Winding-up orders 284

13.8 When a winding-up order is likely to be made 285

13.9 Department of Trade investigations 286

13.10 When inspectors have been appointed 287

13.11 Following investigations 288

13.12 Power to investigate share ownership 288

Summary 288

Casenotes 289

Exercises 294

14 Shares 295

14.1 Ordinary shares 295

14.2 Preference shares 296

14.3 Voting rights 298

14.4 The exercise of voting powers 300

14.5 Variation of class rights 301

14.6 Class meetings 307

14.7 Alteration of articles to insert a variation clause 307

14.8 Statutory right to object 307

Exercises 308

Summary 308

15 Lending money and securing loans 309

15.1 Debenture-holder s receiver 309

15.2 Fixed and floating charges 309

15.3 The characteristics of fixed and floating charges 314

15.4 Crystallisation of the floating charge 314

15.5 Legal and equitable charges 315

15.6 Floating charges and other claims against the company 315

15.7 Retention of title clauses 317

15.9 Basic definitions 318

15.8 Registration of company charges 318

15.10 Which charges are registrable? 319

15.11 Salient points 320

15.12 Notice of crystallisation of floating charges 321

15.13 Delivery of particulars and priorities 322

15.14 Priorities under the registration system 322

15.15 The register and certification 322

15.16 Effect of registration 323

15.17 Duty to register and effect of non-registration 323

15.18 Payment of money secured by unregistered charge 324

15.20 Varying or supplementing registered particulars 325

15.21 Effect of errors and ommissions 325

15.19 Late delivery of particulars 325

15.22 Registration of discharge 326

15.23 Oversea companies 326

15.24 The European Company Statute 327

15.25 Effect of Registrar s certificate 328

Summary 328

Casenote 328

Exercises 329

16.2 Monopolies 330

16.1 Public offers 330

16 Takeovers,reconstructions and amalgamations 330

16.3 The takeover panel 331

16.4 General Principles and rules 331

16.5 Partial offers 332

16.6 Compulsory purchase provisions 332

16.7 Reconstructions 333

16.8 Meetings 334

16.9 Approval of the court 334

16.10 Reconstruction in a liquidation 335

Exercises 336

Summary 336

Casenote 336

17 Insolvency and corporate rescue 337

17.1 Administration 337

17.2 Limitation on jurisdiction 337

17.3 When an order can be made 337

17.4 The application 338

17.5 Service of petition 339

17.6 Hearing 339

17.7 Effect of presentation of a petition 340

17.10 Powers of the administrator 341

17.8 Notice of order 341

17.9 Effect of administration order 341

17.11 Duties of the administrator 342

17.12 Unfairly prejudicial management 342

17.13 Application to discharge the order 343

17.14 Voluntary arrangements 343

17.15 Proposal 343

17.16 The involvement of the court 343

17.20 Administrative receivership 344

17.19 Challenges 344

17.17 Contents of the proposal 344

17.18 Meetings 344

17.21 Liquidations 345

17.22 Voluntary winding-up 346

17.23 The liquidator 347

17.24 Order of payment of debts 347

17.25 Avoiding antecedent transactions 348

17.26 Fraudulent trading 351

17.27 Summary remedy against delinquent directors 352

17.28 Wrongful trading 352

Summary 354

17.29 The destination of the money 354

17.30 Dissolution 354

Casenotes 355

Exercises 362

18 The effect of the EU on English Company law 363

18.1 The making of a Directive 363

18.2 The extent of the influence of EU rules 364

18.3 Sources of EU law 365

18.4 The institutions of the EU 367

18.5 The EU company law harmonisation programme 369

18.6 Company Law Directives 370

18.7 Securities regulation 386

18.8 Insolvency 389

18.9 Conclusion 392

Summary 394

Exercises 394

19 The new company laws of Eastern Europe 395

19.1 The property of the enterprise 395

19.2 Structures of boards and shareholders 396

19.3 The Czech example 398

19.4 Employment laws 401

19.5 Foreign investors 402

19.6 Conclusion 403

20 Transglobal corporations and world development 404

20.1 Development issues 405

20.2 The displacement of domestic production 406

20.3 The effects of the international money and banking systems 407

20.4 The undermining of political systems and the absence of control of transnationals 409

20.5 Environmental issues 410

20.6 Labour law issues 413

Bibliography and Further Reading 414

Index 418

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