Understanding business ownership terms in Legl

When running a company report in Legl, you may see terms that describe how a company fits within a wider corporate structure. This article explains what each term means.

The global ultimate parent is the top-most entity in a corporate family tree — the highest-ranking organisation with no parent above it, anywhere in the world.

The domestic ultimate parent is the highest-ranking entity within a corporate family tree in a specific country or region. It may have a parent company in another country (the global ultimate parent), but it is the top entity within its domestic jurisdiction.

A parent company owns more than 50% of another company (its subsidiary). A parent can also be a headquarters if it owns branches. A parent may itself be a subsidiary if it is more than 50% owned by another company higher up in the structure.

The immediate parent company is the entity that directly holds a controlling interest or majority share in another company, with no other company in between. It is the direct parent in the ownership chain and has primary oversight or control over the subsidiary below it.

An intermediate parent company sits between the immediate parent and higher-level entities (such as the ultimate parent) in a corporate structure. It acts as a middle layer — owning or controlling subsidiaries below it, while also being owned or controlled by a higher entity above it.

An independent company has no reported parent or subsidiary companies associated with it. Its shareholdings are primarily made up of individual shareholders rather than other businesses.

PSCs (Persons with Significant Control) and shareholders are recorded on separate registers at Companies House, and each requires different filings to be completed by the company. This means it is possible to see a discrepancy between the two.

Shareholder information is updated based on the latest Confirmation Statement (CS01), which companies must file at least annually. PSC details are updated when the company files a PSC document at Companies House.

Where there is a discrepancy, PSC details are typically the most up to date — but this depends on which documents the company has filed. Any discrepancy should always be verified with your client. You can check the latest CS01 in the Company filings section of the Legl report.

Where shareholding information is not fully available, Legl will not mark the top company as the ultimate parent, because it cannot be confirmed. This is a data availability limitation rather than an error in the report.

Legl traces the group structure upwards from the company you are searching for, up to the ultimate parent. It does not currently trace downwards to show subsidiaries of the searched company.