Change in control
FSMA requires individuals or corporate bodies who wish to take, or increase, control in an authorised firm to seek approval from the FSA. A change in control also occurs when an existing controller decreases control. SUP 11 in the FSA Handbook gives full details of the thresholds and requirements.
Applications for changes in control should be submitted as soon as proposals become finalised. Prior approval needs to be sought from us and we have a statutory deadline of three months to do this. Should approval be granted, you must also notify us when the change in control takes place.
If you want to tell us about a reduction in control, please send us the details by post or email. We will need details of the current and proposed shareholding in the authorised firm.
Any firm with controllers or close links must submit a report to us once a year, even if there has been no change. You should submit the report within four months of the firm's accounting reference date.
Changes in control may not happen until they have been approved by us.
| Controllers forms |
|---|
All the controllers forms are available in the table below. If you wish to take or increase control of an FSA authorised firm this table will tell you which forms you need to fill in. If you are part of a group and you believe that the submission of one of the forms would not add anything to what we already know, please contact the Change in Control team so that we can discuss it with you. We will adopt a pragmatic approach and try to accommodate such requests but reserve the right to insist that an appropriate form is submitted. Please address your form to the Change in Control Team. |
| Name of controller form | Who should use it |
|---|---|
| Standard Notification Form [DOC] | A controller Firm or individual who is either:
|
| Corporate controllers form [DOC] | A firm that is either a limited company or a limited liability partnership |
| Partnership controllers form [DOC] | A firm that is a partnership |
| Individual controllers form [DOC] | An individual |
| Trust controllers form [DOC] | A controller that is a trust |
| Fund manager form [DOC] | A fund manager who is acquiring no more than 20% of a firm's share capital or voting rights in no more than an investment capacity. |
You may find our forms factsheet useful when filling in the controllers forms.