On 12 July 2022, the UK Government announced that the new Register of Overseas Entities (ROE) held by Companies House and created under the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (the Act) would come into force on 1 August 2022, and requires overseas entities that own land or property in the UK to declare their beneficial owners and/or managing officers.

Who does it affect?

All legal entities which are overseas to the UK whom:

• are purchasing freehold or leasehold property;


• are entering into a new lease of property for a period of seven years or more, or;


• have since 28 February 2022 sold, charged or leased property;

Where this is the case, the overseas entity must provide information about the beneficial owners of that entity to Companies House.

What are the risks of not registering?

• If the registration requirements at Companies House are not complied with, your application for registration at HM Land Registry cannot proceed


• If you make an application without the ID number from Companies House, the registration will be cancelled


• Failure to comply is potentially a criminal offence both for the entity and its officers, (subject to mitigation and transitional provisions) punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment


• Completion monies could become the proceeds of crime

How can we help?

Our sister company, Equiom, is supporting overseas entities that need to register with Companies House under the Act.

If you have any queries regarding the Register of Overseas Entities, and how Equiom can assist with your registration, or any of the other Mandatory Disclosures, please contact us at info@bridges.hk with your enquiry. You can also download our fact sheet to know more about the relevant service.