Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Beneficial ownership definition

What does Beneficial ownership mean? Beneficial ownership describes, in practice, the person who ultimately enjoys the benefit of or control over property, shares or other assets, even where legal title is held by a trustee or nominee. In England & Wales and Northern Ireland, it typically denotes an equitable interest under a trust or nominee arrangement, distinct from legal title. In Scotland there is no legal/equitable split; trustees hold title and beneficiaries have personal rights, but “beneficial owner” is used in practice and in transparency/AML contexts to describe the ultimate owner or controller. In Ireland the term is used similarly and is defined for...

A Practitioner’s Guide to Guernsey Foundations: Registration, Constitution, Governance, Regulation, Migration, Uses and Tax under the Foundations (Guernsey) Law 2012

Published by a LexisNexis Private Client expert

Practice notes

The foundation originates in civil law and, unlike the common law trust, is a statutory construct. This Practice Note distils the regime that began in 2013. It highlights the core attributes of a Guernsey foundation and briefly covers the registration steps, the key individuals involved and their respective rights and duties, the applications of a foundation, and the relocation of an overseas foundation to Guernsey. The regulation and taxation of Guernsey foundations are also considered below...

What is a Guernsey foundation?

The Foundations (Guernsey) Law, 2012 (the Law), which took effect on 7 January 2013 (and was amended by the beneficial ownership of Legal Persons (Guernsey) Law, 2017 (the Beneficial Ownership Law) and, most recently, by the Foundations (Guernsey) (Amendment) Law, 2023, together with further changes made by ordinance and regulation), enables the creation of foundations in Guernsey. The flexibility afforded by the Law supports a myriad of purposes, from traditional private client wealth structuring to commercial and financial transactions. A Guernsey foundation is a corporate person with separate legal personality but, unlike a company, it has no shareholders. Instead, it holds assets...

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Gavin Ferguson

Ogier

Gavin heads Ogier's Private Client & Trusts team in Guernsey, and provides contentious and non-contentious fiduciary services to high net worth individuals, corporate clients and charities. He advises on all aspects of trust and foundation law, including in respect of their creation, reorganisation and administration. He also advises on regulatory matters, general private client matters (including probate) and has an interest in Sharia compliant fiduciary structures. Gavin is a qualified Guernsey Advocate, BVI solicitor, English solicitor and Notary Public, and holds a personal fiduciary license which permits him to act as a director, protector, enforcer, guardian and council member. He was praised for his "very high degree of expertise" in trust and private wealth work, and described as "one of the island's top trust lawyers" in client feedback cited in the Chambers and Partners UK Guide 2017. Client feedback quotes by Legal 500 described him as...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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