Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Company definition

What does Company mean? In legal practice, company describes an incorporated association formed to carry on business or another lawful purpose. Across England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland this ordinarily means a body corporate formed and registered under the Companies Act 2006; in Ireland, under the Companies Act 2014. A company has separate legal personality (Salomon v A Salomon & Co Ltd), can own assets, enter contracts, sue and be sued, and typically provides limited liability for its members. Common forms are the private company limited by shares (Ltd), the public limited company (plc), the company limited by guarantee and the unlimited company....

UK companies holding UK land: corporation tax treatment of trading and investment, gains, anti-avoidance (including short lease premiums), REIT regime and ATED

Published by a LexisNexis Tax expert

Practice notes

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Direct tax treatment of UK companies investing in UK land

While purchasers may have grounds to hold commercial and, at times, residential property through an offshore structure, the UK limited company is still the predominant vehicle for investing in UK real estate. An important exception is privately used dwellings, for which a UK company is generally not a tax-efficient holder. This is a consequence of the April 2013 introduction of the annual tax on enveloped dwellings (ATED) and associated measures, alongside the Single higher rate of SDLT for high-value residential transactions. ATED now extends to dwellings valued above £500,000, subject to a number of reliefs. For more information, see the Practice Notes: ATED—the basics and Single higher rate of SDLT for high-value residential property transactions. This Practice Note sets out the direct tax (that is, corporation tax) position of a UK-incorporated and tax-resident company (referred to here as a UK company) investing in or dealing with UK land...

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Charles Goddard

Rosetta Tax

Charles is a solicitor at Rosetta Tax Limited, which specialises in corporate tax advice to businesses and professional services firms. He has a broad range of tax advisory expertise, having acted for a variety of UK-based and international financial institutions and listed companies. He has particular expertise in the real estate and finance sectors, with a strong focus on the taxation of insolvency and restructuring transactions.Charles was for six years until 2012 a tax partner at Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP. Prior to joining BLP, he spent eight years at Slaughter and May as a trainee and associate in their Tax group. He is recommended by both Chambers and Partners and Legal 500....

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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