Charities Act 1985

3 Power for certain charity trustees to transfer whole property to another charity.

(1) Subject to and in accordance with this section, the trustees of a registered charity, or a charity which is not required to be registered, may pass a resolution that the whole property of the charity be transferred to another charity, being a registered charity or a charity that is not required to be registered, to be held and applied by, and as property of, that other charity.

(2) Such a resolution shall not have effect unless in the case of the charity first-mentioned (" the transferor charity ") its gross income in the preceding accounting period was £200 or less; and the trustees must, before passing such a resolution—

(a) obtain from the trustees of the other charity (" the transferee charity ") written confirmation that they are willing to accept a transfer of property under this section, and

(b) have formed the opinion that the objects of the transferee charity are not so far dissimilar in character to those of the original charitable gift that the proposed transfer would constitute an unjustifiable departure from the intentions of the founder of the transferor charity or violate the spirit of the gift.

(3) The trustees must also take such steps as are reasonably open to them to secure the approval to the proposed transfer of any person identifiable as having been the founder of the charity.

(4) The resolution of the trustees must be unanimous, and must be in the form set out in Schedule 2 to this Act, or as near to that form as circumstances may admit.

(5) Having passed the resolution, the trustees shall—

(a) give such public notice that they have done so as they think reasonable and justified, having regard to the resources of the charity and the extent of its area of benefit, and

(b) send copies of the resolution to the Commissioners and, if it is a local charity for the relief of poverty, to the appropriate local authority, accompanied in each case by a statement of their reasons for wishing to effect a transfer of property under this section.

The trustees need not comply with paragraph (a) of this subsection if they consider that, in all the circumstances, no useful purpose would be served by giving public notice of the resolution.

(6) The Commissioners may, when considering the resolution, require the trustees to provide additional information or explanation as to the circumstances in and by reference to which they have determined to act under this section or as to their compliance with this section; and the Commissioners shall take into consideration any representations made to them by the appropriate local authority and others appearing to them to be interested.

(7) The Commissioners shall, not less than six weeks or more than 3 months from the time when they receive a copy of the resolution from the trustees—

(a) if it appears to them that the requirements of this section are satisfied in respect of the resolution and that it is a proper case (treating the trustees' opinion under subsection (2)(b) as prima facie well-founded and not to be set aside in the absence of contrary considerations), give to the trustees notice of their concurrence with the resolution, or

(b) give them notice that they require further time in which to consider the case (but so that not more than an additional 6 months shall be taken for that purpose), or

(c) give them notice that they do not concur with the resolution.

Any notice given by the Commissioners under this subsection (including any notice of concurrence, or non-concurrence, given after they have taken further time for consideration) shall be in writing, and if a copy of the resolution has been sent to the appropriate local authority under subsection (5)(b), they shall send a copy of any such notice to that authority.

(8) If the Commissioners give notice of their concurrence with the resolution, the trustees of the transferor charity shall on receipt of the notice make arrangements for the transfer of the whole property of the charity to the trustees of the transferee charity, to be acquired by that charity on the terms of this section.

(9) Those terms are as follows—

(a) all property acquired from the transferor charity which was expendable as income in the hands of that charity is to be treated as expendable in the hands of the transferee charity;

(b) any property of the transferor charity which was not expendable as income, having formed part of that charity's permanent endowment, is to remain subject to the same restrictions on expenditure as applied before the transfer;

(c) the whole property acquired by the transferee charity is to be held and applied for the objects of that charity.

(10) For the purpose of enabling any property to be transferred under this section, the Commissioners shall have power, at the request of the trustees of the transferor charity to make orders vesting any property of that charity in the trustees of the transferee charity.

(11) This section does not apply to a charity falling within paragraph (g) of Schedule 2 to the Act of 1960 or a charity which is a company or other body corporate.