Company Law Reform Bill [HL]

I am grateful to the Minister. Perhaps if would be possible to look at the title of the clause for a later stage. However, there is something that I do not understand. Clause 132(2)(c) states that for this purpose a person is an intermediary if he,"““does not carry on an excluded business””." An excluded business is the making or managing of investments. I accept that that is not easy to understand, but I read it as meaning that if you were an investment banker, you would not be able to have dealings in your own shares for your clients because you would be a business that consisted wholly or mainly of making or managing investments. I do not think that we will get any further with this matter this afternoon; nor do I think that it is helpful to have this discussion in Committee. But it is extremely difficult to see what the purpose of the provision is from the way in which it is drafted. Corporate lawyers accept that this is a very old piece of legislation. They accept that in principle it has to be here, but the way in which it works leaves them baffled. If they are baffled, I certainly am. I am happy to draw a line under this matter but perhaps the Minister would see whether he can clarify it in any way for a later drafting.