The idea of having a register of overseas entities, requiring offshore companies and other legal entities which buy property in the UK to declare the true identity of their beneficial owners, has been around for some time.  Draft legislation was initially published in 2018.  However, since then, progress has been slow and even at the beginning of this year there was no agreed timetable for its implementation.

However, one of the many repercussions of the crisis in the Ukraine, and the government's economic sanctions towards Russia in response, has been to finally fast-track the proposals, along with various other measures aimed at ensuring financial transparency and continuing the ongoing government battle against fraud and illicit finance in the UK.  The legislation was introduced in Parliament earlier this week.

Once enshrined in law, the register of overseas entities will make the position more equal between offshore entities and UK companies and trusts (which already have to give details of their beneficial interests to Companies House and HMRC respectively).  In many cases, this will of course be a very good thing - there can indeed be nefarious reasons for wanting to conceal true ownership of property.  However, there are also perfectly legitimate reasons for including legal entities in property holding structures, not least maintaining the privacy of well-known and sometimes targeted individuals, as well as lawful asset protection concerns.  Such valid considerations may become increasingly difficult to address over the coming months and years.