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Net assets meaning

What does Net assets mean?
In legal and corporate practice, net assets describes the amount by which a company’s total assets exceed its total liabilities at a given date, as presented in its balance sheet. It reflects both current and non‑current (fixed) assets, less current and non‑current liabilities (including provisions and accruals), and is broadly equivalent to shareholders’ funds/equity. For statutory capital maintenance and distribution tests, the term is defined: under the UK Companies Act 2006 (notably section 831 for public companies) and the Irish Companies Act 2014, net assets are the aggregate of assets minus the aggregate of liabilities, determined by reference to the relevant annual or interim accounts. Practitioners rely on net assets when assessing the lawfulness of distributions by public companies, reductions of capital, solvency statements, and in M&A pricing and completion accounts. In transactional documents, net assets is often a bespoke defined term that may exclude or adjust particular items; the contractual definition prevails. Do not confuse net assets with net current assets (current assets less current liabilities) or with net asset value (NAV) for investment funds. Usage and accounting treatment are broadly consistent across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
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View the related Checklists about Net assets

CHECKLISTS
Express Financial Remedy (EFR) pilot (FPR 2010 PD 36ZH) flowchart: eligibility, sub‑£250,000 cases and pre‑first hearing documents; with standard procedure pathways (England and Wales)

Pilot express financial remedy (EFR) procedure This flowchart explains the pilot express financial remedy (EFR) route for financial remedy applications where the parties’ combined net assets are below £250,000 (pension rights excluded). It applies from 7 April 2025 upon the commencement of Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), PD 36ZH. It outlines who qualifies for the EFR pathway and the papers that each side must lodge and swap in advance of the first EFR hearing as per PD 36ZH...

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CHECKLISTS
UK asset sale tax due diligence checklist: key questions on trading stock, intangibles (IFA), capital allowances and fixtures, VAT/TOGC, and SDLT/LBTT/LTT

This Checklist offers a series of prompts that may help in assessing the tax consequences of an asset sale. It should be read together with Practice Note: Key tax considerations in an asset sale. For further detail on pre-contract enquiries, see also Practice Notes: Capital allowances on property sales—pre-contract enquiries and Commercial Property Standard Enquiries—CPSE (the CPSEs, compiled by members of the London Property Support Lawyers Group and endorsed by the British Property Federation, set out standard questions relevant to a sale of commercial real estate)... Key tax considerations in an asset sale General questions What is the status of the parties: companies, individuals or other entities, for example a partnership, trust or charity? Are there multiple sellers? Are there multiple buyers? Does the seller hold both legal and beneficial ownership of the assets? On actual completion, will the buyer obtain legal and beneficial ownership of the assets? Are the parties connected with one another for tax purposes? If...

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CHECKLISTS
Express Financial Remedy Procedure pilot under FPR 2010 PD 36ZH (England and Wales): eligibility, timetable, forms and online process for assets under £250,000 (7 April 2025–2 April 2027)

Procedural Guide This Procedural Guide explains the stages of the express financial remedy (EFR) procedure, running currently as a pilot from 7 April 2025 to 2 April 2027 in certain Family Court venues, and limited to matters where the total combined net assets, excluding pensions, are under £250,000. For cases falling within the pilot, the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, together with the related Practice Directions, are varied pursuant to FPR 2010, PD 36ZH. For fuller, practical direction on the EFR, please refer to Practice Note: Express financial remedy procedure—pilot scheme...

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NEWS
Fraudulent trading and misfeasance: director hid accounts, destroyed records; absence of records led to £2.5m restoration; s127 IA 1986 claim admitted (England and Wales)

Thiel-Czerwinke and another (joint liquidators of Courtside Recycling Ltd) v Crabb [2024] EWHC 337 (Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling underlines the uncompromising obligation on directors to maintain trading records, and accepts that discarding or failing to retain them was, on these facts, a constituent part of the director’s fraudulent design. It also clarifies that once office-holders demonstrate that company assets or cash were transferred to a director, the absence of documents showing that the funds or property were applied for the company’s advantage renders the director liable to repay the whole amount to the company. That outcome applies even though the judge did not doubt that Mr Crabb did in fact use some of the cash when making payments for Courtside... What was the background? Mr Crabb served as the Company’s sole director; the business dealt in scrap metal. For the trading periods from August 2014 to February 2018, the Company submitted VAT returns declaring sales, net of VAT, totalling...

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NEWS
EU provisional AML Directive: new authority, harmonised rules, stricter CASP checks on €1,000+ transfers, enhanced monitoring of high‑net‑worth clients, with football clubs and luxury traders in scope

Incoming legislation will bring stricter rules to the crypto sector, requiring CASPs to carry out customer checks and to report suspicious activities whenever transactions total €1,000 euros or more. Controls will be even more rigorous for CASPs’ cross-border transactions. ‘We have ensured that the crypto sector will operate under the same rules and bear the same obligations as the traditional financial sector’, said Eero Heinäluoma, on this matter...

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NEWS
Ending a life interest to sell property and share proceeds: Saunders v Vautier, capacity, deputies/attorneys, Court of Protection or Variation of Trusts Act 1958 approvals (England and Wales)

See Q&A: A and B are beneficiaries under a Will, and B holds a life interest in a property. A now wishes to sell the property and split the net sale proceeds equally with B. How can A bring B’s life interest trust to an end? B has learning difficulties. It is understood the Will directs that certain assets are to be held on trust for B (the sister) for life, with the remainder to pass to A (the client). Where every beneficiary of a trust is of full age and has mental capacity, they can jointly require the trust to be terminated and the assets transferred to them accordingly...

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PRACTICE NOTES
Family Offices in the UK: Types, Services, Establishment, Costs, Governance, Regulation, Challenges and Trends—A Lawyers’ Guide

Family office The phrase ‘family office’ spans a wide array of circumstances, so there is no universally agreed definition. The Family Firm Institute, however, characterises a family office as: ‘A separate entity apart from the operating business (and sometimes created with the assets realised after the sale of a family enterprise) consisting of a diversified wealth portfolio held for the benefit of the family’ (Family Enterprise; understanding Families in Business and Families of Wealth Wiley 2014 (not reported by LexisNexis®)). Such offices are largely, and more commonly, the preserve of high net worth—indeed ultra high net worth—families (ie those with investable assets above $30m), with varied holdings and complex affairs. That complexity can create scope for disputes. Nonetheless, with a well-designed structure supported by a clear strategy and effective family governance, a family office can yield substantial advantages. These benefits accrue not only to the family members themselves but also, through coordinated philanthropic efforts, to the broader community. Likely features of a family office include: a...

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PRACTICE NOTES
UK corporation tax (TCGA 1992): Pre-entry capital losses and gains in company groups—anti-loss buying, loss streaming, anti-gain rules, QCBs and group reorganisations

The capital gains regime allows corporate groups to organise the offset of allowable losses arising in one group company against taxable gains arising in another. The most straightforward route is to elect to move a gain or a loss between companies within the group. That election rests on the premise that group members function, in many ways, as a single economic unit, and that the tax code ought to mirror that reality. The purpose of the provisions is to enable groups to net gains and losses against each other where both the gains and the losses arise within the same group. This treatment is not meant to apply to companies acquired into a group specifically because they already carry losses. The pre-entry loss rules exist to stop groups from cutting their gains by purchasing losses in this fashion. Although intended to counter avoidance, the pre-entry loss rules can bite regardless of whether the parties involved are driven by tax motives, and they apply even where tax considerations are not the...

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PRACTICE NOTES
Türkiye private client guide 2025: taxation (income, gains, inheritance), succession and forced heirship, non-recognition of trusts, property, capacity and immigration

Taxation regime What factors determine tax liability in your jurisdiction (eg domicile, residence or citizenship)? Türkiye’s tax landscape is intricate, operating through numerous laws, regulations, communiqués and subsequent amendments. The key legislative instruments include: Tax Procedure Law No. 213 (10 January 1961) Corporate Tax Law No. 5520 (21 June 2006) Value Added Tax Law No. 3065 (2 November 1984) Stamp Tax Law No. 488 (11 July 1964) Income Tax Law No. 193 (6 January 1961) Broadly, the Turkish Tax System is considered under three headings: (i) income taxes, such as individual income tax and corporate income tax; (ii) taxes on expenditure, including Value Added Tax (VAT), the Banking and Insurance Transactions Tax and Stamp Tax; and (iii) taxes on wealth, for example Property Tax and Inheritance and Gift Tax. For natural persons, residency, ownership of property and citizenship are key in determining which taxes apply in Türkiye. An individual’s tax burden is mainly linked to their earnings,...

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PRECEDENTS
Law firm cash flow and profitability ratios: calculation and benchmarking template (current ratio; WIP, debtor and creditor days; gross and net profit margins)

Current ratio Date of calculations: [ insert date of calculations ] Formula: Current assets ÷ Current liabilities Calculation: Result: Result from previous month/year: % movement: If the ratio slips under 1.0, the firm lacks sufficient current assets to meet its current liabilities as they become due. Compare this outcome to the previous current ratio result. If the current ratio is declining and nearing 1.0, calculate the other ratios to gain a clearer view of why the firm is running out of money...

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PRECEDENTS
Precedent: Exempt Financial Promotion Notice and Investor Certification Statements for High Net Worth and Self‑Certified Sophisticated Investors (FSMA 2000/FPO 2005, UK)

Warning: This promotional material has not been signed off or otherwise approved by an authorised person as defined under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. If you rely on this promotion when undertaking any investment activity, you could potentially face a particularly substantial financial risk of losing the entirety of the capital or other assets you commit. This document is issued by [ insert the name of the person making the financial promotion, or on whose behalf the financial promotion is made ]. Anyone receiving this document who requires additional details, or wishes to raise any other enquiry concerning the subjects to which this communication pertains, should send a request to [ insert the postal or electronic address to which a recipient should send such requests. Also, if applicable, insert the country or territory in which the person making the financial promotion, or on whose behalf the financial promotion is made, is incorporated. Also, provide the registered address of the person making the financial promotion, or on whose...

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PRECEDENTS
UK Inheritance Tax for Practitioners: Lifetime gifts (PETs/CLTs), death estates, trusts, exemptions, nil-rate bands incl. residence, taper relief, BPR/APR, reservation of benefit, planning—2024–2028 rates

What is inheritance tax? Inheritance tax (IHT) is, in general, a levy arising on an individual’s death, calculated by reference to the worth of that person’s net estate at the point just before death. The net estate is the aggregate worth of assets held by that individual, less the total of their borrowings and other obligations. To deter individuals from sidestepping the charge by making substantial transfers shortly prior to death, the regime also covers gifts made in the seven years preceding death. Certain further transfers and events that are not tied to an individual’s death may likewise be within the scope of IHT. When is IHT payable? ...

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