Property Services Agency and Crown Suppliers Act 1990

3 Transferee companies

(1) The person or persons to whom anything is transferred by a scheme under section 1 above may be or include one or more companies (“transferee companies”) formed or acquired by the Secretary of State for that purpose.

(2) Subject to subsections (4) and (5) below, the Secretary of State may—

(a) subscribe for or otherwise acquire shares in or securities of a transferee company, or rights to subscribe for such shares or securities;

(b) from time to time by a direction given to a transferee company require it to issue to him such shares or securities as are specified in the direction;

(c) make loans to a transferee company on such terms and conditions as he may determine.

(3) A direction under subsection (2)(b) above may require any shares to which it relates to be issued as fully or partly paid up.

(4) The Secretary of State shall not subscribe for or otherwise acquire shares in or securities of a transferee company, or rights to subscribe for such shares or securities, unless all the company’s issued shares are to be held by or on behalf of the Crown and shall not at any time give a direction or make a loan to a transferee company under subsection (2) above unless all its issued shares are then held as aforesaid.

(5) The Secretary of State shall not exercise any of the powers conferred by the foregoing provisions in this section or dispose of any shares in or securities of a transferee company without the consent of the Treasury.

(6) If the articles of association of a transferee company confer on the Secretary of State powers exercisable with the consent of the Treasury for, or in connection with, restricting the sums of money which may be borrowed or raised by the company during any period, those powers shall be exercisable in the national interest notwithstanding any rule of law and the provisions of any enactment.

(7) For the purposes of subsection (6) above there shall be disregarded any alteration of the articles of association of a transferee company which has the effect of conferring or extending any such power as is mentioned in that subsection and is made at a time when the issued shares in the company are no longer all held by or on behalf of the Crown.