National Report on the United Kingdom

Abstract

UK company law does not have a specialised body of rules dedicated to groups of companies. Liability within a group and toward third parties may arise based on other legal doctrines, such as piercing the corporate veil, liability of the parent company as de facto or shadow director of the subsidiary for various fiduciary, accounting and reporting duties, as well as duties to creditors in the vicinity of insolvency. Liability may also arise when a special relation is established between the companies in a group, such as agency, or between the parent company and a third party affected by the subsidiary's activity, such as a duty of care in negligence.