What is an Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO)?

A UBO is a 'Ultimate Beneficial Owner', which means the ultimate beneficial owner of an organisation. This can be determined in two ways:

UBO based on ownership

A person qualifies as a UBO due to ownership when they have either:

  • Over 25% of the total ownership of an organisation.
  • Will receive over 25% of the assets of the organisation in the event the organisation winds down.


UBO based on Control

A person qualifies as a UBO when they have more than 25% total control of an organisation. Or has control over the organisation in another way, such as:

  • Having over 25% of the voting rights in board meeting.
  • Having a decisive influence on the basis of the articles of association.
  • They are authorised to make decisions about the organisation.

A UBO is always a natural person. The ownership or control of an organisation can be direct or indirect, so ownership or control through another organisation also counts towards the total ownership or control.

Not possible to determine a UBO?
If you cannot determine a UBO on the basis of ownership or control, please designate an individual to be a pseudo UBO who has the most influence over the day to day activities of the organisation.


Good to know

  • Triodos bank is obliged to determine the UBOs of all organisations that bank with us.
  • In certain cases, Triodos bank may make a different choice as to who qualifies as a UBO.

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