Special Purpose Vehicles

A Special Purpose Vehicle ("SPV") is a term applied to a wide range of companies, formed for the specific purpose of entering into a financial transaction or series of linked transactions, often as part of a financial restructuring within a multi-national group of companies, for securitisation of assets or liabilities or for tax-efficient structuring of a transaction.

An SPV is not a specific or unique form of legal entity and most are structured using a normal company limited by shares, although the ownership of these shares is often through an 'orphan' vehicle. Certain transactions, where appropriate, may also be structured through Companies Limited by Guarantee, Protected Cell Companies or Incorporated Cell Companies.

The main benefit of using an SPV is as a means of ensuring that the transaction(s) for which they are formed are safe from the taint of any other previous or future unrelated transactions within the same company.