PRIVATE COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES
Key Points
- Private Limited Company with shares – minimum 1, maximum unlimited
- Suitable for any normal commercial trading purposes
- Objects can be unrestricted
- Suitable for the vast majority of businesses in the UK
- Can undertake any nature of business
- Can operate anywhere in the world
- Members have limited liability
- Can have a sole director and sole shareholder
- Can have corporate officers
- Limited companies are often advantageous for their shareholders regarding taxation
- Incorporated usually in less than 3 hours and full documents despatched within 24 hours
- Own choice of name subject to “sensitive names” and “same as” rules
The Basics
A limited company is a legal entity, which in the eyes of the law, is a separate “person”. This basic principle means that a company can hold assets in its own right, conduct business, employ people, it can sue and be sued, and importantly it can outlive its directors and shareholders.
The shareholding of a limited company determines its ownership and the business can be transferred in part or in whole to other owners by a simple transfer of shares. This is a significant advantage over a sole trader.
Another major benefit to individuals conducting business through a limited company as opposed to being a sole trader, or as part of a partnership, is the principle of limited liability. This means that the shareholders/owners of a business as a limited company do not risk their own personal assets should the company fail and enter administration. Limited liability restricts the ability of an administrator to recover any shortfall from a company’s shareholders to the limit of the value of shares registered in a shareholder’s name that are unpaid at the time of entering administration.
Our Premier Company Formation service for private companies limited by shares allows you to choose the name of your new company, subject to availability, and because we submit all company formations electronically to Companies House as soon as orders are received, your company will normally be incorporated within 3 hours of ordering. Your full company pack will be despatched on the day your company is incorporated.
Electronic Incorporation
Electronic Incorporation is no longer anything new in the UK, having been in use since 2001 and currently used by most company registration agents. This process not only enables us to form your new limited company very quickly, but also with your intended directors, registered office and shareholders all in place and recorded at Companies House immediately upon incorporation. The major benefit is the speed with which we can incorporate your new company, allowing you to immediately open a bank account and be up and running with your new business without delay.
The speed of electronic incorporation virtually wiped out any need for agents to maintain large stocks of ready made companies as it takes longer to file the necessary documents to change the directors and shareholders for those companies when you make a purchase.
Choosing a Company Name
You can use virtually any name for a new company as long as it is not exactly the same as or very similar to that of another registered name. Some words such as “International”, “Holdings” and “Group” are designated as sensitive names and there are rules governing their use in a company name.
There are also new rules under the Companies Act 2006 that prevent a company using a name that is too similar or considered the "same as" another company name without proper consent. For example you cannot now add “UK” to the end of a company name to differentiate it from a similar name.
There are specific and expansive rules on these issues, and you can read more about this in our pages on choosing a company name.
Price and Package Contents
Whether you choose our Printed, CD or Email package, you will receive a first class service, and all statutory documentation will be fully completed for you. Our prices vary according to the method of delivery and presentation of the documents you receive, not the standard of service or level of documentation you receive, unlike many other formation agents whose prices vary according to their service levels. See our company package contents page for more details of what is included.
As we have always maintained since we started forming companies in 1993, we provide only one level of service, that’s why we call it Premier Service.
Companies Act 2006
Throughout the period from 2007 to late 2009 the Companies Act 2006 was gradually implemented in place of the Companies Act 1985. The final parts of the new Act were enacted on 1 October 2009 and introduced major changes to company incorporations.
We can assure every client that your company incorporation is completely up to date with the new law. However, before you think of ordering with another formation agent, it is most important that you check that the agent you choose has made the necessary amendments to their standard Articles of Association.
Many agents, particularly those at the cheaper end of the market will recommend that you adopt the Model Articles contained in the Companies Act 2006 as the law now allows. Our professional legal advisers have indicated that these Model Articles are not sufficient for the proper establishment of UK companies and companies formed with the Model Articles may well face problems in the future
Company Registrations Online Ltd is a member of ACRA, The Association of Company Registration Agents, who are the only recognised representative trade association in the company formation industry and whose membership presently accounts for over 50% of all incorporations conducted in the UK. ACRA wholly endorses the use of its own detailed bespoke Articles of Association instead of the adoption of Model Articles prescribed by the Companies Act.
All companies incorporated by Company Registrations Online are registered with ACRA Approved Articles of Association.
See our pages relating to The Companies Act 2006 and Articles of Association for more details.