Some 550 sections of the 2006 Companies Act, the largest single piece of UK legislation ever to be introduced, come into force today.

Some 550 sections of the 2006 Companies Act, the largest single piece of UK legislation ever to be introduced,  come into force today.

This leaves only a handful of sections remaining to be made law from the Act, which has been staggered over three years to give businesses time to prepare for the changes.

Derek Stroud, a partner at law firm Pinsent Masons, says, ‘With these changes coming in, companies should really review their constitutions and ensure that they are fully compliant with the new rules’.

Sections of the Act being enacted today cover areas such as the formation and registration of companies, company names and business names, re-registration of companies as a way of altering their status, protection from disclosure of directors’ addresses, and the rules governing shares and share capital.

The Act caused controversy with its codification of the duties of company directors, which passed into law in 2007 and 2008.