ABSTRACT

In contrast to the company, the other main type of business association is the partnership. This is an unincorporated association, where two or more persons associate for the purposes of business. No other separate legal personality is brought into existence on the formation of the partnership, and the business and all its assets remain the property of the partners. The Partnership Act 1890 defines a partnership as ‘[t]he relation which subsists between persons carrying on a business in common with a view of profit’ and it specifically excludes the relationship which exists between the members of a company.18 But, while companies can never be considered as partnerships, companies themselves can be the partners in a partnership, for example, as part of a joint venture with other companies.