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06 March 2024
Issue: 8062 / Categories: Legal News , Commercial , Company
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ECCTA 2023 reforms at Companies House

Stronger checks on company names are being carried out from this week, as the first measures under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA 2023) come into force

From 4 March, Companies House has greater powers to query information and request supporting evidence, tackle and remove factually inaccurate information, and share data with government departments and law enforcement agencies. Companies must supply a registered email address and can no longer use a PO Box as their registered office address.

Also from this week, anyone forming a company must confirm they are doing so for a ’lawful purpose’ and that future activities will be lawful.

Companies House CEO Louise Smyth said: ‘These new and enhanced powers are the most significant change for Companies House in our 180-year history. We are prioritising cases where people’s names and addresses have been used without their consent.’

ECCTA 2023 will have a phased roll out. Future reforms include identity verification and a requirement to submit profit and loss accounts. 

MOVERS & SHAKERS

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

Daniel Burbeary, office managing partner of Michelman Robinson, discusses launching in London, the power of the law, and what the kitchen can teach us about litigating

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Wedlake Bell—Rebecca Christie

Firm welcomes partner with specialist expertise in family and art law

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Birketts—Álvaro Aznar

Dual-qualified partner joins international private client team

NEWS
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
In a striking financial remedies ruling, the High Court cut a wife’s award by 40% for coercive and controlling behaviour. Writing in NLJ this week, Chris Bryden and Nicole Wallace of 4 King’s Bench Walk analyse LP v MP [2025] EWFC 473
A €60.9m award to Kylian Mbappé has refocused attention on football’s controversial ‘ethics bonus’ clauses. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law examines how such provisions sit within French labour law
A seemingly dry procedural update may prove potent. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold explains that new CPR 31.12A—part of the 193rd update—fills a ‘lacuna’ exposed in McLaren Indy v Alpa Racing
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