What You Need to Know When Setting Up a Limited Company

Man congratulating its client for setting up a limited company

It can be the best moment of your life to set up a limited business. But with so much to consider, it’s easy to lose track of what’s required and how to take those first steps.

Here’s what you’ll need to know before you can go from idea and execution to glowing reviews on Checkatrade for your very own limited company.

The name of the company

Name your limited business is the first important step towards achieving your business objectives. Names must be memorable and convey what your company offers without being controversial or sensitive.

Be wary of also using any trademarked material or picking a name that presents your business as something it isn’t.

An address for a registered company

You can apply for limited companies in the UK by anyone, however your registered address must reside within the United Kingdom’s same country as the company (England and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).

Some use a PO Box, some choose a home address and others choose another way to get mail. An address is essential for all official correspondence.

The list of Company Officials

An official director is required for a limited company.

It’s best to list out each company official, including their full names, nationalities, dates of birth, and addresses before you apply to be a limited company. You will be able to save a lot of time in the future and it will make things run much more smoothly.

Shareholders in a company

The next thing you’ll need to do is get the details of your shareholders. Each shareholder will need to provide their full legal name, address, the class of shares and the number of shares they’re going to own.

For extra information, it’s best to also get their passport numbers and National Insurance information too. All information should be treated with discretion, but you must ensure it is all in one place prior to applying.

Shareholding structures

And of course, in order to provide the above information as accurately as possible, you’ll need to make some important decisions on how the shares in your new limited company will be divided out.

Many companies will split shares and provide different types of shares. However, it’s perfectly fine to own all of the shares yourself if that’s what you want.

Register of People of Significant Control

Anyone who owns 25% or more of your limited company’s shares, or has 25% or more of the voting rights for your company, is considered a person of significant control. Companies are legally obliged to maintain a list of People of Significant Control.

You’ll also be expected to keep this record up to date on an annual basis through a confirmation statement that’s sent to Companies House each year.

Memorandum of Association

A Memorandum of Association basically refers to an agreement of intent for a limited company. The entire process is online. You simply need to enter the information of all shareholders and then click a button to verify that they have authorized the form.

Entrepreneurship Life published the article What to Do When Starting a Limited Company.

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