Companies Act 2006

197 Loans to directors: requirement of members' approval U.K.

(1) A company may not—

(a) make a loan to a director of the company or of its holding company, or

(b) give a guarantee or provide security in connection with a loan made by any person to such a director,

unless the transaction has been approved by a resolution of the members of the company.

(2) If the director is a director of the company's holding company, the transaction must also have been approved by a resolution of the members of the holding company.

(3) A resolution approving a transaction to which this section applies must not be passed unless a memorandum setting out the matters mentioned in subsection (4) is made available to members—

(a) in the case of a written resolution, by being sent or submitted to every eligible member at or before the time at which the proposed resolution is sent or submitted to him;

(b) in the case of a resolution at a meeting, by being made available for inspection by members of the company both—

(i) at the company's registered office for not less than 15 days ending with the date of the meeting, and

(ii) at the meeting itself.

(4) The matters to be disclosed are—

(a) the nature of the transaction,

(b) the amount of the loan and the purpose for which it is required, and

(c) the extent of the company's liability under any transaction connected with the loan.

(5) No approval is required under this section on the part of the members of a body corporate that—

(a) is not a UK-registered company, or

(b) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of another body corporate.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Ss. 197-214 modified (22.2.2008) by The Northern Rock plc Transfer Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/432), art. 17(1), Sch. para. 2(i)

C2 Ss. 197-214 modified (8.00 a.m. on 29.9.2008) by the The Bradford & Bingley plc Transfer of Securities and Property etc. Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/2546), art. 13(1)(3), Sch. 1 para. 2(i)

C3 Ss. 197-214 modified (9.30 a.m. on 7.10.2008) by The Heritable Bank plc Transfer of Certain Rights and Liabilities Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/2644), art. 26, Sch. 2 para. 2(i)

C4 Ss. 197-214 modified (retrospective to 30.3.2009 at 8.00 a.m.) by The Amendments to Law (Resolution of Dunfermline Building Society) Order 2009 (S.I. 2009/814), arts. 1(2), 7, Sch. para. 2(i)

C5 Ss. 197-214 modified (1.3.2016) by The NRAM plc (formerly Northern Rock plc) Consequential and Supplementary Provisions Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/114), arts. 1(1), 7(1), (3), Sch. para. 1(i)

Commencement Information

I1 S. 197 wholly in force at 1.10.2007; s. 197 not in force at Royal Assent see s. 1300; s. 197 in force at 1.10.2007 by S.I. 2007/2194, art. 2(1)(d) (with saving in art. 12 and subject to transitional adaptations specified in Sch. 1 and with transitional provisions and savings in Sch. 3)