Practical Law UK Glossary 4-107-5926 (Approx. 6 pages)
Glossary
Close company
A company is a close company if it is a UK resident company and five or fewer participators, or any number of participators who are directors, either:
Have control of the company (and control has a special, broader meaning for this purpose than in some other tax statutes); or
Together possess, or are entitled to acquire, rights to receive the greater part of the assets of the company available for distribution among participators on a notional winding up (disregarding the rights any person - including one of the relevant participators - holds as a loan creditor of the company or any other company).