On 4 May 2023 the Scottish Parliament passed the long-awaited
Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Bill. The Bill introduces
wide-ranging reforms to the Scots law of assignation of rights and
of security over moveable property, and heralds one of the biggest
changes to commercial law in Scotland – and for the ability
of Scottish businesses to access finance - for many years.
Almost 20 years in the making the package is the result of
extensive consultation with stakeholders across the legal,
financial services and general business communities, particularly
in recent years as the final legislation was being drafted.
What does the Bill do?
The Bill simplifies and clarifies the existing Scots law
relating to assignation of rights and introduces a new form of
Scots law fixed security that can be granted over tangible moveable
property and certain intangible moveable property known as the
"Statutory Pledge". The Bill also introduces two new
online registers – the Register