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Company Law Bill [HL]

Amendment No. A67ZA appears to be a drafting suggestion. It replaces what is currently framed as a conditional proposition—"““Any limited company may reduce its share capital . . . if the reduction is confirmed by the court””—" with drafting that presents the stipulation up front, as it were, by stating:"““Provided that the reduction is confirmed by the court . . . any limited company may reduce its share capital by special resolution””." This does not seem to us to represent a change of substance and since the current drafting states quite clearly that any limited company may reduce its capital by special resolution if the reduction is confirmed by the court, there does not seem to be any scope for confusion. In other words, we do not think that the words could be construed in a way that would permit a company to reduce its share capital by special resolution without obtaining confirmation by the court. We do not see how that could be misinterpreted. However, I make it absolutely clear that no change is intended and it does not seem to me that the rewording would make any difference. In those circumstances, the Government do not feel able to agree to the proposed amendment.