UK Company Formation (Limited)

UK FORMATIONS

The Minimum requirements for a UK limited Company formation

The following guide is designed to help you understand the minimum requirements you must fulfil in order to form a UK limited company (limited by shares).

UK limited companies have very few requirements or restrictions which is what makes them a simple yet flexible solution for many businesses.

The very minimum requirements are -

• There must be at least one director appointed.
• All directors must be at least 16 years old.
• The company must have a registered office address in the UK. For companies registered in Scotland the address must be in Scotland and likewise for companies registered in England and Wales the registered address must be in England or Wales.
• The chosen company name must not be exactly identical to any other company name currently held on the register at Companies House.
• The company must issue a minimum of one share at the time of incorporation

Other points worth remembering -

• Company Secretary is an optional position for private limited companies. You can appoint one if you feel it will assist in administering your company.
• The director, secretary and shareholders do not have to be based in the UK. Virtually anyone can own and manage a UK limited company.
• The address for directors must not be a PO Box. Certain countries use PO Boxes as standard, in which case a street name must also be supplied.
• Corporate bodies can act as director, secretary and shareholder. This can however make opening a bank account more difficult in some circumstances. A company can no longer have a sole director that is a corporate entity, there must be a natural director appointed at all times i.e. a real person.

Documents and information required to form a limited company:

-       a unique Company name

-       a UK based address (You cannot use a PO Box address for the registered office address but you can trade from a PO Box address afterwards)

-       director  name

-       director home address

-       date of birth and occupation for each involved person

-       number of shares

-       type of shares

-       shareholders details

-       a passport (or any other ID) copy

-       a proof of address

Nominee Director Services 

It is a perfectly legal device which preserves the privacy of an individual. It is designed to help a person who would rather not disclose their interest or association with a given corporate body.

-       The Nominee Director cannot and will not enter into any business contract or financial or moral commitment.

-       Business Help UK will act as Nominee Company Director for limited companies on an annual basis.

-       This service is primarily designed to help people keep non-trading or dormant companies fully compliant with the law and perhaps to protect the identities of the persons actually controlling the company.

-       At the same time the appointed nominees are not actually entitled to manage the company.

-       We provide the beneficial owner with a Power of Attorney empowering him to run the business, manage the company's activities and open and operate the company's bank accounts.

-       Nominee Director will only sign company accounts and annual returns prepared by the accountants of the company.