To register a Limited Company or Public Limited Company in the UK you need to consider the following:

THE COMPANY NAME

• The Company name must be unique and should avoid similarity with existing registered companies or established brand names. For instance 'Virgin','Vodaphone','Harrods'
• There are various sensitive words which should be avoided. For example 'Royal','Bank','National' AND 'British' are regarded by Companies House as sensitive terms.
• Limited Companies should have the word 'limited' or letters 'Ltd' at the end of the name
• Public Limited Companies should have the letters 'PLC' at the end of the name
• Limited Liability Partnerships should have the letters 'LLP' at the end of the name

THE DIRECTORS

• The persons responsible for the day to day management and operation of the company.
• Directors can be corporate bodies or private individuals.
• For Limited companies you must appoint a minimum of 1 director (plus a Company Secretary), there is no maximum number of directors. For Public Limited Companies you must appoint a minimum of two directors (plus a Company Secretary)
• A director can be of any nationality and can be resident in any country.
• A director can also be appointed as the company secretary (provided there are at least 2 directors) and can be a shareholder.
• A director can hold numerous directorships, there is no limit.

THE COMPANY SECRETARY

• Every company must appoint a Company Secretary who acts as the company's Administrative Officer and shares responsibility with the directors for delivering statutory corporate documentation to Companies House.
• The Company Secretary can also be appointed as a director provided there are at least 2 (two) directors.
• A nominee appointment is available from Rapid Companies together with full secretarial duties if required.

THE SHAREHOLDERS

• Are the owners of the company who exercise ultimate control.
• They have the power to dismiss directors from office with a majority vote.
• There must be a minimum of one share in issue; the maximum is determined by the share capital as specified.

SHARE CAPITAL

• Represents the total number of shares available for issue.
• For Limited Companies we normally specify a total of 1,000 shares valued at £1 each, the total number of shares and value per share can be any amount you choose.
• If there are 1,000 shares and only one share is issued, then 999 shares remain unissued and are available for issue in the future.
• For Public Limited Companies we normally specify 50,000 shares at £1 each. PLC's must have a minimum of £12,500 in shares fully paid up.

REGISTERED OFFICE

• This is the legal address of the Company (it may or may not be the actual trading address because many companies use a nominee address).
• It must be a UK address located in either England or Wales; or in Scotland for Scottish companies.
• any UK address can be used but not a P.O. Box.
• Rapid Companies have nominee addresses available in London (England) or Cardiff (Wales).

THE CONCEPT OF LIMITED LIABILITY

• Trading with a UK Limited company offers personal asset protection to the directors and shareholders in the event of company failure.
• This protection exists provided that the affairs of the company have been conducted in accordance with legal requirements.
• Liability is limited to the shareholders according to the amount of issued share capital.

STATUTORY REPORTING

• Financial accounts must be filed annually with Companies House. Fines are automatically imposed for late filing. Your accountants will usually remind you when this information is due.
• Annual return -this document discloses the names and addresses of the directors, secretary and shareholders; the registered office address and type of trade. Failure to file this document can result in dissolution of the company. Should you choose to use Rapid Companies company secretarial services, we will handle this on your behalf.
• Taxation -it is compulsory to register with the Inland Revenue for Corporation Tax and PAYE requirements. Registration for VAT is compulsory if annual turnover exceeds the current limit of £53,000. Rapid Companies is able to register you with these government bodies.

Please feel free to email us or call us on +44 (0)870 750 98 90 if you have any questions.