On April 5, 2017, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (“BEIS”) published a call for evidence seeking views on the proposed register of beneficial owners of overseas companies and other legal entities that own property (i.e., real estate) in the UK or that engage in UK government procurement.
The concept of such a register was first explored by BEIS (then BIS, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) back in March 2016, with the UK government confirming its intention to introduce such a register in May 2016.