[Property developersU.K.
5(1)A company is treated as not being a company for the purposes of paragraph 3(3)(a) if—U.K.
(a)the company acquires the subject-matter of the chargeable transaction in the course of a bona fide property development business and for the sole purpose of developing and reselling the land, and
(b)the company has carried on that business for at least two years before the effective date of the transaction.
(2)Where the subject-matter of a chargeable transaction is acquired by or on behalf of the members of a partnership, those members are taken not to include a company for the purposes of paragraph 3(3)(b) if—
(a)that subject-matter is acquired in the course of a bona fide property development business and for the sole purpose of developing and reselling the land, and
(b)the partnership has carried on that business for at least two years before the effective date of the transaction.
(3)In relation to a transfer of an interest in a partnership that is a chargeable transaction by virtue of paragraph 17(2) of Schedule 15 (“the partnership transfer”) the purchasers are treated as not including a company for the purposes of paragraph 3(3)(b) (as modified by paragraph 3(6)) if—
(a)the acquisition effected by the land transfer referred to in paragraph 17(1)(a) of that Schedule was made in the course of a bona fide property development business, and for the sole purpose of developing and reselling the land, and
(b)the partnership is continuing to carry on that business at the effective date of the partnership transfer, and has carried it on for at least two years before that date.
(4)In relation to an event that is a chargeable transaction by virtue of paragraph 17A(4) of Schedule 15 (“the qualifying event”) the purchasers are treated as not including a company for the purposes of paragraph 3(3)(b) (as modified by paragraph 3(7)) if—
(a)the acquisition effected by the land transfer referred to in paragraph 17A(1)(a) of that Schedule was made in the course of a bona fide property development business, and for the sole purpose of developing and reselling the land, and
(b)the partnership is continuing to carry on that business at the effective date of the qualifying event, and has carried it on for at least two years before that date.
(5)A property development business is a business that consists of or includes buying, and redeveloping for resale, residential property.
(6)For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(b) a property development business is treated as having been carried on by the company at any time when it was carried on by a company which is a member of the same group as the company.
(7)Companies are members of the same group for the purposes of this paragraph if they are members of the same group for the purposes of group relief (see paragraph 1 of Schedule 7).]