Companies Act 1948

2 (1) Where it is proposed to acquire shares in a body corporate which by reason of the acquisition or anything to be done in consequence thereof or in connection therewith will become a subsidiary of the company, a report made by accountants (who shall be named in the statement) with respect to the profits and losses and assets and liabilities of the other body corporate in accordance with sub-paragraph (2) or (3) of this paragraph, as the case requires, indicating how the profits or losses of the other body corporate dealt with by the report would, in respect of the shares to be acquired, have concerned members of the company, and what allowance would have fallen to be made, in relation to assets and liabilities so dealt with, for holders of other shares; if the company had at all material times held the shares to be acquired.

(2) If the other body corporate has no subsidiaries, the report referred to in the last foregoing sub-paragraph shall—

(a) so far as regards profits and losses, deal with the profits or losses of the body corporate in respect of each of the five financial years immediately preceding the delivery of the statement to the registrar ; and

(b) so far as regards assets and liabilities, deal with the assets and liabilities of the body corporate at the last date to which the accounts of the body corporate were made up.

(3) If the other body corporate has subsidiaries, the report referred to in sub-paragraph (1) of this paragraph shall—

(a) so far as regards profits and losses, deal separately with the other body corporate's profits or losses as provided by the last foregoing sub-paragraph, and in addition deal either—

(i) as a whole with the combined profits or losses of its subsidiaries, so far as they concern members of the other body corporate; or

(ii) individually with the profits or losses of each subsidiary, so far as they concern members of the other body corporate;

or, instead of dealing separately with the other body corporate's profits or losses, deal as a whole with the profits or losses of the other body corporate and, so far as they concern members of the other body corporate, with the combined profits or losses of its subsidiaries; and

(b) so far as regards assets and liabilities, deal separately with the other body corporate's assets and liabilities as provided by the last foregoing sub-paragraph and, in addition, deal either—

(i) as a whole with the combined assets and liabilities of its subsidiaries, with or without the other body corporate's assets and liabilities; or

(ii) individually with the assets and liabilities of each subsidiary;

and shall indicate as respects the assets and liabilities of the subsidiaries the allowance to be made for persons other than members of the company.