Can company move from one country to another? Or are companies forever tied to their place of formation?
I'm thinking specifically of an investment company in Jersey, potentially moving onshore to UK, so no tangible assets of any sort, no employees. My instinct is that this would have to be achieved by forming a new company in UK and buying/selling all the assets/liabilities.
Obviously there are all sorts of other implications - I'm just thinking of the narrow question of where the company is registered.
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So far as I know it would have to be achieved by forming a new company, I've looked into moving one from Northern Ireland to Scotland and didn't come up with any other solution.
There may be some esoteric process by which this can be achieved but if so I couldn't find it.
Duggimon's verdict is borne out by this article:
https://www.1stformations.co.uk/blog/can-i-transfer-my-scottish-register...
Would a UK parent be a viable alternative to transferring assets and liabilities to a NewUKco?
Companies can move their place of incorporation from England, by sponsoring a Local Act of Parliament! See the Smith Kline & French Laboratories, Australia, and Menley & James, Australia, Act 1991.
Whether that can be done in Jersey I do not know.
I do not though understand why you need to transfer the place of incorporation. It can't be for tax reasons.
For inheritance tax purposes it matters both where the company is resident and where the registered office is (which must usually be in the territory of incorporation).
Why do you want to? What investments does it hold, and who are the shareholders (in terms of companies, individuals or trusts, and residence/domicile status)?
I have dealt with a number of situations, where post-2017 (and more so post-FA 2019), it has been no worse having a UK company. We have done this by establishing a new UK company and ultimately getting rid of the non-UK company afterwards. It's not without its little elephant traps though.
And what does the group do? Specifically is it investing in UK land to any great extent?
If not, I'm not sure it is something that should be done, even if it could be done (and I share the view of others that it can't).
So, the shares in the holding company are currently non-UK situs and the holding company is presumably non-UK resident, so that any gains future and historic are not currently exposed to UK taxation?
Bringing it onshore now would mean that future (and potentially historic) gains (on the shares in the UK trading companies) are exposed to corporation tax, unless you can make new UK company treaty non-resident.
Yes, and now I think about it further SSE might be available to shelter the gains, if done correctly. There would still be the IHT non-UK situs point though.
However, I'll let you deal with the communication issue as a first step.
You cannot move a company from one legal jurisdiction to another. You can change where the company is regarded as resident but there would still be ongoing legal ties to a varying degree in the country of incorporation.