Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Ownership definition

What does Ownership mean? In legal practice, ownership describes who has the bundle of rights over property: to possess, use, enjoy income, exclude others, transfer, or charge it, subject to law and third‑party rights (such as easements/servitudes, leases and security interests). It is a descriptive expression used across contexts (land, goods, shares, intellectual property), rather than a single statutory definition, though related concepts are defined in legislation and case law (for example, beneficial ownership in anti‑money laundering/PSC regimes and land registration rules). Across England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland, lawyers commonly distinguish legal ownership (title shown on a register, deed or share register) from...

UK Joint Share Ownership Plans (JSOPs): Funding EBT Share Purchases—Contributions, Company Loans (Close Company Rules) and Third-Party Debt—and Core Terms on Acquisition, Dividends, Voting, Vesting and Realisation

Published by a LexisNexis Share Incentives expert

Practice notes

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Basic structure of a JSOP

The basic structure of joint ownership features two holders: the employee participant, who takes the growth interest, and the co-owner, who retains the remaining interest in the shares. In most cases, the co-owner is the trustee of an employee benefit trust (EBT) set up by the company, either expressly to support the jointly owned share arrangement or as a general employee share ownership trust. For this practice note, it is assumed that the co-owner is an EBT trustee. For wider background on joint share ownership plans (JSOPs), see Practice Note: Introduction to JSOPs.

Funding the acquisition of the jointly owned shares

The EBT trustee is usually funded by the company. There are multiple ways to finance this, and each method brings different consequences and considerations.

Contribution

The most straightforward option is for the company to make a contribution by way of gift to the EBT. This is the simplest route because it removes the need for loan documentation and avoids the involvement of third-party lenders...

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Stephen Woodhouse

After studying law at Leicester University and a career in the City of London spanning 30 years Stephen joined Pett Franklin as the third partner in the team on 1st December 2013.While practising in the City, Stephen trained at Slaughter and May working in their tax department for seven years after qualifying across a range of tax matters but particularly on employee share schemes. From there he joined Norton Rose to assist with building their employee share scheme practice. He joined Touche Ross (later, Deloitte LLP) in 1994 becoming a partner in 1999 until leaving Deloitte to join us on 1st December 2013.Throughout his career, Stephen has advised on tax with particular emphasis on employee share schemes and related remuneration issues. He has advised on both domestic and international issues and become an acknowledged expert on employee benefit trusts in their many...

William Franklin

William is an experienced share schemes practitioner. He is also a Chartered Accountant who is widely recognised as a leading adviser on the valuation, accounting and financial aspects of all forms of remuneration, incentive and employee share schemes. He is a member of the HMRC Employment-Related Securities & Valuations sub-group, contributes to Tolley's Guidance on Employment Taxes. William has considerable experience of determining and agreeing with HMRC the market value for tax purposes of shares in unquoted companies. As a physics graduate, he is also able to advise on IFRS2 accounting and some of the more arcane aspects of option pricing mathematics. Together with David Pett, he first developed the joint share ownership plan (JSOP). William previously worked for Pinsent Masons and Ernst & Young. He has been an active supporter of junior local cricket and...

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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