It is not yet fully clear how the new Act will apply to existing companies. While an initial consultation process began in 2006, further consultation in 2007 will look to address this question in detail. Broadly, the intention is to respect existing company arrangements. Therefore if a company’s current articles include an explicit provision requiring something that the Act itself no longer requires, the existing articles will have to be amended if the company wishes to take advantage of the deregulation allowed by the Act.
2007 will begin as a year of consultation, which will lead to secondary legislation that will implement many of the detailed provisions of the Act. Therefore a number of provisions are unlikely to come into force for over a year, which will provide us with time to prepare.
If you would like to discuss the changes to company law in more detail including how you might begin to plan for them please contact us.