Finance Act 2007

Enterprise investment scheme

2 (1) Chapter 4 of Part 5 of ITA 2007 (the issuing company) is amended as follows.

(2) In section 180 (overview of Chapter 4), after paragraph (e) insert—

“(ea) number of employees (see section 186A),”.

(3) After section 186 insert—

“186A The number of employees requirement

(1) If the issuing company is a single company, the full-time equivalent employee number for it must be less than 50 when the relevant shares are issued.

(2) If the issuing company is a parent company, the sum of—

(a) the full-time equivalent employee number for it, and

(b) the full-time equivalent employee numbers for each of its qualifying subsidiaries,

must be less than 50 when the relevant shares are issued.

(3) The full-time equivalent employee number for a company is calculated as follows—

• Step 1

  Find the number of full-time employees of the company.

• Step 2

  Add, for each employee of the company who is not a full-time employee, such fraction as is just and reasonable.

  The result is the full-time equivalent employee number.

(4) In this section references to an employee—

(a) include a director, but

(b) do not include—

(i) an employee on maternity or paternity leave, or

(ii) a student on vocational training.”

(4) The amendments made by this paragraph do not have effect in relation to—

(a) shares issued before the day on which this Act is passed, or

(b) shares issued to the managers of an approved fund which closed before that day.

(5) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (4)(b)—

(a) “the managers of an approved fund” has the same meaning as in section 251 of ITA 2007, and

(b) the reference to shares issued to the managers of an approved fund is to shares issued to those managers as nominee for an individual who has invested in the fund.