Companies Act 1948

7 (1) The first of the basic conditions shall be subject to an exception for any shares or debentures held by or by a nominee for a banking or finance company, where the banking or finance company acquired the shares or debentures or its interest therein in the ordinary course of its business as such and by arrangement with the relevant company or its promoters:

Provided that this exception shall not apply if the banking or finance company has the right (or, where there is more than one such company holding shares or debentures to which this exception has to be applied in determining the relevant company's right to be treated as an exempt private company, they have between them the right) to exercise or control the exercise of one fifth or more of the total voting power at any general meeting of the relevant company.

(2) Where by virtue of the foregoing sub-paragraph any shares or debentures are excepted from the first of the basic conditions, the second of those conditions shall be subject to an exception for the banking or finance company, itself, where the shares or debentures are held by a nominee for it, and for any interest in those shares or debentures which any person has by virtue of debentures of the banking or finance company or as trustee of a deed for securing an issue of debentures of that company.