Change on the way for Limited Partnerships (LPs) in Ireland

By Andrew Lambe, 22 June 2019

Following the imminent introduction of the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership (RBO) in Ireland, there is pressure from some quarters to make Limited Partnerships (LPs) and Investment Limited Partnerships (ILPs) more transparent in terms of who is behind them. LPs and ILPs will be exempt from the RBO in Ireland, unlike the UK. A recent Sunday Business Post article has shone a light on the perceived opaque nature of LP’s and issues that have arisen from their use in some other jurisdictions such as Scotland. There is also concern that the numbers of Limited Partnerships registered in Ireland have more than doubled since 2015.

New Limited Partnerships Database

On basis of the above, The Companies Registration Office (CRO) is going live next week with a “limited partnerships” database and searching this can be based on name and number showing the members and all associated documents. Previously, all LPs registered were published on a PDF document regularly but were difficult to search and most documents were not publically available.

Limited Partnerships Act 1907 – Time for a review?

The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation also announced recently that they are reviewing the Limited Partnerships Act 1907. As part of the review process, the Department sought submissions from Professional Associations, Advisors and other interested parties. Submissions have been made by some of the top tier legal firms in Ireland as well as representative bodies such as the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies – Ireland (CCAB-I), Irish Venture Capital Association, The Law Society of Ireland and Company Law Review Group (CLRG). The submissions made can be viewed here

For more information on the above, or to register a Limited Partnership (LP), please don’t hesitate to contact the experts at Company Bureau.