Charity Commission
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First page opens in the Register of Mergers
- new provision to help charities merge goes live
The Charity Commission today opened the Register of Mergers, ready for the first entries from charities which have merged with each other.
Previously, when a charity merged with another it often had to maintain a 'shell' charity to carry on receiving legacies and gifts given in its old name, or come to the Commission to make a legal scheme to enable gifts to pass to the successor charity. The provision for a Register of Mergers was included in the Charities Act 2006.
The main advantage of the new Register is that gifts to a charity - particularly legacies and wills - will now transfer automatically to the successor charity which exists after the merger, as long as the merger has been registered with us.
The online Register will show:
* The names and registered numbers of the transferor and transferee charities;
* the date the merger was registered with the Commission;
* the date or dates when the transfer or transfers of property involved took place;
* the details of any vesting declaration that was made in connection with the merger.
The Commission's Chief Executive, Andrew Hind, said,
"I'm very pleased the Commission can now introduce another of the new Act's provisions which will make a direct and practical difference to charities. The Register of Mergers will free charities from the cost and effort of maintaining shell charities and, with time, provide an accessible and valuable record of mergers in the sector."
Both the Register and the forms through which merging charities apply for registration are available from our website at http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk under 'Promoting effective performance' then 'Mergers and collaborative working'.
Notes to editors:
1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator for charitable activity in England and Wales. See http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk for more information.
2. The Charities Act 2006 gained Royal Assent in November 2006. It contains a number of provisions to help charities evolve and change, of which the Register of Mergers is just one. The second commencement order for the Act was published on 21 November, with the provisions in connection with the Register of Mergers implemented on 28 November.
For more information call: Sush Amar on 020 7674 2462