Company Law Reform Bill

moved Amendment No. 225A:"Page 98, line 25, leave out ““with a personal interest”” and insert ““who will benefit personally, including through connected persons””" The noble Lord said: In moving Amendment No. 225A I shall speak also to Amendment No. 226A, which covers the same topic. The requirement here, in our view and in that of some others, should be limited to the members who stand to benefit personally, rather than those who have a personal interest. References to ““personal interest”” here make sense only in the context of owner-managed companies, not others. In companies that should be capable of approving ratification, it should be all the members of the company other than those who stand to benefit personally. While bigger companies may well be aware of the personal interests of a smaller number of shareholders, in larger companies they will not be aware of the personal interests of several thousands of their shareholders, particularly where the shares are traded daily. I cannot see how the amendment can be made to work in practice. I beg to move.