Committee publication · Correspondence · 23 July 2025

Letter from the Chancellor of Duchy of Lancaster relating to a potential register of foreign-owned assets in the UK, 21 July 2025

From: Business and Trade Sub-Committee on Economic Security, Arms and Export Controls

Summary

Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, writes to the Business and Trade Committee following a 9 July hearing to clarify the government's position on establishing a foreign-owned assets register. The government opposes creating a new dedicated register, arguing instead that existing mechanisms—including the Register of Overseas Entities, Trust Registration Service, and classified Knowledge Base tracking critical infrastructure—provide sufficient visibility of foreign ownership.

Key findings

Government maintains current position against a new foreign-owned assets register, preferring to rely on existing dispersed information across departments and agencies
Register of Overseas Entities (Companies House) requires overseas entities to register before purchasing, leasing, or charging land in England and Wales
Trust Registration Service administered by HMRC covers beneficial ownership of UK trusts; government proposes extending it to all overseas trusts holding UK land
Knowledge Base, a classified tool, tracks critical assets across critical national infrastructure sectors; data is not publicly available due to CNI sensitivity
Government will address asset ownership transparency through a forthcoming dedicated Anti-Corruption Strategy

Tone

Procedural

Topics

economic-securityforeign-investmentfinancial-transparencycritical-infrastructureanti-corruption

Key actors

Pat McFadden, Liam Byrne MP, Mr Maynard, Companies House, HM Revenue & Customs, HM Land Registry, Cabinet Office

Notable line

“… we believe it makes most sense to maintain our current position which draws on the extensive information already at the Government's disposal.”

Key Quotes

“… we believe it makes most sense to maintain our current position which draws on the extensive information already at the Government's disposal.”
— Pat McFadden · Setting out government's stance on foreign-owned assets register

“The government views the issues vertically - by drawing on the deep expertise of departments and agencies - and horizontally, maintaining an overview and considering the potential for vulnerabilities.”
— Pat McFadden · Explaining government's approach to monitoring foreign ownership

“Overseas entities need to register on the ROE and obtain an Overseas Entity ID before they can buy, lease, or charge land in England and Wales.”
— Pat McFadden · Describing existing Register of Overseas Entities requirements

“Given the nature of CNI, the data within the Knowledge Base is classified.”
— Pat McFadden · Explaining why classified tracking tool data is not public

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Source · parliament.uk record ↗