Companies House does not treat a Trust as having legal personality, and its guidance is that shares held on trust should not be registered in the name of the trust. Inform Direct follows that guidance, so shares should be held by the trustees in their names on trust for the beneficiaries.

It is often a misconception that the shares should be registered in the name of a Trust. Registering a Trust as though it were a corporate entity (unless it is a corporate trustee) is often done, but it is not how Companies House expects a trust to be shown, so we don't recommend it.

Note: Shares, as per any other investment of a Trust, should be held by the trustees in their names on trust for the beneficiaries of the Trust.

To reflect the fact that shares are held by the Trustees on Trust (rather than beneficially) you can include the name of the Trust or the fact that they are being held on trust in the register and on any share certificates as an account designation.

Note: The designation is not reported to Companies House, it is just the shareholder(s) names which are sent

For example: if Jack Jones and Jill Jones are trustees you would first create a joint shareholder. How do I create a joint shareholder?

In the above example we have used the designation "re Jones Family Settlement Trust". You could equally have phrased it "as Trustees of the Jones Family Settlement Trust".

Note: The option to add a designation is always given after you have either allotted or transferred shares.

Simply select Yes and add the designation exactly as you want it to appear including any "re" or "as".

Note: Where there is more than one Trustee, i.e. it is not a sole corporate Trustee, you should include each Trustee as a joint shareholder. The trustees can choose not to have all the trustees recorded as the holder of the shares but where they are individuals at least two must be included so they can give a valid receipt.

Note: If you require the full trustee names and designation to show publicly, rather than just the shareholder names, a workaround is to use a corporate shareholder. This is not how Companies House expects trusts to be shown, so is not recommended.

Does this apply to overseas trusts too, e.g. an Australian trust? Yes, the same process applies equally to a trust based outside the UK, such as in Australia. You don't need any additional trust registration number or extra documentation for an overseas trust beyond what's described above: the trustees' names recorded as joint shareholders, plus the trust name used as the designation.

Note: Registering shares on trust can also affect who is the company's PSC. See Trusts and Inform Direct for guidance on how trustees, settlors, protectors and beneficiaries can be the PSC of a company where shares are held on trust.

Also known as: trust as shareholder, transfer shares to trustees, family trust shareholder, trust not individual or corporate, can I add a trust as a shareholder, Companies House trust legal personality.