Also known as a parent undertaking. Broadly, for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, an undertaking is a parent undertaking in relation to a subsidiary undertaking if it falls within one of the following categories:
It holds a majority of the voting rights in the undertaking.
It is a member of the undertaking and has the right to appoint or remove a majority of its board.
It has the right to exercise dominant influence over the undertaking by virtue of provisions contained in the subsidiary undertaking’s articles or a control contract.
It is a member of the undertaking and controls alone, under an agreement with other shareholders or members, a majority of its voting rights.
It has the power to exercise, or actually exercises, dominant influence or control over the undertaking, or both of them are managed on a unified basis (section 1162, Companies Act 2006).