Legal entities
Developer brand and contract company: how to tell them apart
The name on a billboard or website may differ from the company selling the property. A developer brand may use several legal entities, while an individual project may sit in a special-purpose company.
Separate four roles
- Brand — the name used to market the group or project.
- Seller — the legal entity signing the agreement with the buyer.
- Landowner — the person or entity recorded in the land register.
- Contractor — the company carrying out the building work; it need not be the seller or landowner.
What to check in the company register
Search by the full company name or registration number. The official register's free record includes the current name, type, status, registered address, current directors and secretary, and the latest annual return filing date.
A paid detailed search includes name, address, director and member history, plus registered charges and mortgages. This can help map relationships, but it does not replace a DLS search for the specific property.
How to map the documents
- List the name and HE number of every company appearing in the documents.
- Assign each one a role: seller, landowner, contractor, manager or payment recipient.
- Request documentary authority where the recipient is not the seller.
- Check the authority of the person signing for the company.
- Match the plans and property description to the contract schedules.
Questions for the seller and lawyer
- What is the legal relationship between the brand and seller?
- Who owns the land today?
- Is the land subject to a mortgage, another deposited contract or a prohibition?
- Who must complete construction and remedy defects?
- Which entity owes a refund or compensation?
- What happens to the obligations if the project company stops operating?
Limits of public records
Shared addresses, directors or secretaries may evidence a connection. They do not automatically prove ownership, control or one company's responsibility for another's obligations.
Missing information in a public record does not prove that no relationship exists. Material conclusions should be grounded in official documents and the transaction terms.
Sources and scope
Official sources support the procedures and records described here. The editorial checklists help a buyer prepare for due diligence but do not replace a review of the particular transaction by an independent Cyprus lawyer.
Official description of free and paid searches in a company file.
Official description of a company as a legal entity and the available registry services.
Requirements concerning the parties, property and corporate documents.