Company Guides
How to set up a limited company in the UK. From the incorporation process to ongoing tasks such as dealing with Companies House, and maintaining your company records.
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Confirmation Statement – what is it, and how do I file one?
The UK tax authorities introduced new regulations on 30th June 2016 which introduced a new piece of paperwork for all businesses registered at Companies House to file. The new annual confirmation statement has replaced the annual return (Companies House form AR01) but does all the same things – just in a simpler way.
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Forming a company – what is a statement of capital?
A statement of capital is an official form which gives details of a company’s issued shares and their status at a specific date. It’s part of the documentation that has to be completed during the company incorporation process.
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Limited company or sole trader – compare business structures
Going self-employed as a sole trader, or setting up your own limited company are the two most popular ways to start up a new business. However, there are significant differences between these two types of business structure which you can compare here.
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Who can become a limited company director?
Although almost anyone can hold the position, certain individuals are disqualified from running a company. So what exactly are the rules governing the appointment of a company director?
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Limited companies – what are pre-emptive rights?
Pre-emptive rights, also known as rights of pre-emption, means that the current shareholders in a company should always have first refusal on any new shares being issued, whether this arises through the transfer, allotment, or transmission of shares.
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Where do you have to display your company name?
There’s a lot to think about when you set up a limited company to fully comply with rules under the Companies Act 2006, one such obligation is how and where you should display your company name.
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Share options – how to incentivise your employees
Share options have become a popular way of attracting, incentivising and retaining staff, especially for small businesses or start-ups who can’t afford to offer high salaries.
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What are a company’s statutory registers?
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.
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What are different classes of shares used for?
Today, 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.
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Forming a company – what is the meaning of ‘limited liability’?
In what sense do any shareholders and directors have limited liability should things go wrong with the business? What does this mean in reality, and in what circumstances might a director still be found liable?
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What is the Companies Act 2006?
The Companies Act 2006 contains more than 1,300 sections, replaces the 1985 Act. It aims to modernise company law, simplify legislation, enhance the rights of shareholders, ease the administration burden for companies, and codify the duties of company directors.
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What is share capital, and what types of share can be issued?
To get a business off the ground, it’s vital to have some cash reserves. This is 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. The cash they pay to buy ownership is known as ‘share capital’.
