All companies must keep up-to-date statutory registers and ensure they are available for inspection on request. Statutory registers include important information about the company such as the names of members and how many shares each one holds.

Many companies still have just the one class of shares – ordinary shares. However, there are many different classes of shares, and even ordinary shares can have different features.

In the UK, there are four main types of limited liability companies: Private limited companies limited by shares, private limited companies limited by guarantee, private unlimited companies, and public limited companies. Sole trader and general partnerships aren’t companies as such as neither is a legal entity. Another business structure is a limited liability partnership, which

The Companies Act 2006 is a complex piece of legislation that took eight years of lengthy consultation before agreement could be reached on the final provisions. The new Act, which became law in October 2009 and contains more than 1,300 sections, replaces the 1985 Act. It aims to modernise company law, simplify legislation, enhance the

In order to get a business off the ground, it’s vital to have some cash to get the enterprise going and give it some momentum. That’s where shareholders come in: by paying cash up front in return for a portion of ownership, they hope for a future higher value of the shares they now own.

If you’re starting up a business for the first time, you can choose which business structure most suits your needs. A limited company offers liability protection for its directors and is usually most tax efficient route to take. Here we look at the advantages (and disadvantages) offered by incorporating.

A shareholders’ agreement is a private document which outlines how a limited company is to be run. It is designed to protect all parties, particularly minority shareholders, and to restrain the power of the directors.

A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a business model that shares some characteristics with both a limited company and a regular partnership while possessing unique features of its own. In terms of company structures, LLPs are relatively new in the UK and were first introduced in 2000 by the Partnership Act. So, what type of

Sole traders are simply people who are self-employed. Whatever your industry, anyone can become self-employed and run a business without a team and as a single individual.

If you want to start a business in the UK, you will typically work as a sole trader, as an unincorporated partnership, via your own limited company, or via a limited liability partnership (LLP).