The law of registration of company charges is of considerable importance for corporate finance transactions throughout the UK. This article analyses the current regime that came into force on 6 April 2013. It examines various aspects of the regime, principally from a Scots law perspective, including what is meant by a “charge”, when charges are created, the extent to which unregistered charges are effective, and the rules regarding registration of charges over acquired property. The article demonstrates that, although the new regime is a general improvement on the previous one, there are a number of new and familiar problems concerning its applicability and operation in relation to Scots law. There are also some implications involving the uniformity of Scots law and English law in the area that arise from the fact that the regime is now UK-wide.
Registration of Company Charges Revisited: New and Familiar Problems