Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Enterprise definition

What does Enterprise mean? In legal practice, enterprise refers to the economic activities of a business, or a discrete part of those activities, that can operate as a going concern. In UK merger control and market investigations, the Enterprise Act 2002 defines enterprise as the activities, or part of the activities, of a business. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) asks whether two or more enterprises cease to be distinct, which can occur through a share acquisition or an asset purchase that brings together a functioning business unit (for example, staff, systems, contracts, goodwill and customer relationships). The analysis focuses on activities rather than...

SBEEA 2015: UK finance and restructuring implications—abolition of bearer shares, assignment of receivables, expanded UKEF powers, insolvency reforms, procurement measures and company administration changes

Published by a LexisNexis Banking & Finance expert

Practice notes

ARCHIVED: This PrACTice Note has been archived and is no longer updated. It is provided for background information only.

Introduction

Despite its title, the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (SBEEA 2015) has general effect across UK companies, not just small and medium-sized enterprises. While the Act chiefly concerns corporate matters and company administration, certain elements may influence financing transactions and warrant attention from finance practitioners. These include:

the abolition of bearer shares
powers enabling the override of prohibitions on invoice assignment
modifications to the powers of the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD)
adjustments to administrators’ and liquidators’ powers with implications for insolvency and restructuring practice
streamlining of public procurement processes
changes to company administration

The SBEEA 2015 received Royal Assent on 26 March 2015 and is being brought into force in stages. For the timetable indicating when specific provisions commence, see Practice Note: The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act—company Law reforms [Archived].

Bearer shares

Bearer shares (share warrants to bearer) have been abolished by the SBEEA 2015...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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