HL Deb 27 October 1981 vol 424 cc1041-2

169 After Clause 73, insert the following new clause:

Amendment of Parts IV and V of the 1980 Act

("Exclusion from section 48 of the 1980 Act of arrangements made between certain group companies or by companies in liquidation.

.—(1) Section 48 of the 1980 Act (substantial property transactions involving directors, etc.) shall have effect subject to the following modifications.

(2) In subsection (1) at the beginning there shall be inserted the words "Subject to subsections (6), (7) and (8) below".

(3) The following subsections shall be inserted after subsection (6)— (7) Subsection (1) above shall not apply in relation to any arrangement for the acquisition of a non-cash asset—

  1. (a) if the non-cash asset in question is to be acquired by a holding company from any of its wholly owned subsidiaries or from a holding company by any of its wholly owned subsidiaries or by one wholly owned subsidiary of a holding company from another wholly owned subsidiary of that same holding company; or
  2. (b) if the arrangement is entered into by a company which is being wound up unless the winding up is a members' voluntary winding up.

(8) Subsection (1)(a) above shall not apply in relation to any arrangement whereby a person is to acquire an asset from a company of which he is a member if the arrangement is made with that person in his character as such member.".").

170 Insert the following new clause—

Additional exception from section 49 of the 1980 Act.

.—(1) In section 50 of the 1980 Act (certain transactions exempted from section 49 of that Act) the following subsection shall be inserted after subsection (2)— (2A) Without prejudice to any other provision of this section, section 49(1)(a) above shall not prohibit any company from making a loan to a director of the company or of its holding company if the aggregate of the relevant amounts does not exceed £2,500.

(2) In section 51 of that Act (definition of "relevant amounts") in subsection (1) for the words "by subsection (3) (a)" there shall be substituted the words "by subsection (2A) or (3)(a)"; and at the end of that subsection there shall be inserted the words— Where the relevant exception is the exception provided by subsection (2A) references in this section to a person connected with a director shall be disregarded.

Lord Trefgarne

My Lords, I beg to move that this House doth agree with the Commons in their Amendments Nos. 169 and 170. I should furthermore like to speak to Amendments Nos. 223, 224, 225, 226 and 227. This group of amendments introduces certain relaxations of the provisions of Part IV of the Companies Act 1980 dealing with the duties of directors and conflicts of interest. I am very willing to go into further details, but, if your Lordships would prefer to leave it at that, I beg to move.

Moved, That this House doth agree with the Commons in the said amendments.—(Lord Trefgarne.)

On Question, Motion agreed to.