Company Formation Laws and Types in the UK

 

Company Formation Laws and Types in the UK, differs from other countries, first one needs to learn and understand these laws before making mind, to establish company in any country. UK offers three different models to form company in UK i.e. private limited company, limited liability partnership and public limited liability company. These three types are different from each other and apply laws also differ from each other. The minimum processing time for any company formation in UK is 24 hours. In majority cases, you don’t need to be a UK resident for becoming director or shareholder of any company registered in UK.

 

You can form private limited company with only one person to incorporate or act as director and it is also allowed for corporate entities to become shareholder of any private limited company. The man advantage of private limited company in UK is, its limited liability nature which protects shareholders in the time of business failure. The country law also protects corporate name as no one can use the name once it’s registered by any company but there are also restrictions on using names that shows any link or connection with government entities and other already established companies. UK also requires that there be a local registered office for any company wanted to do business.

 

The requirement for a limited liability partnership company is different from private limited company as it doesn’t required shareholders. There is no requirement of director, ethical liability and memorandum or article of association. It can also own any property in UK as it is not possible in private limited company.

 

Public limited liability company is a public company as shown by name and is allowed to sell its shares to general public through initial public offering (IPO) and secondary public offering. These companies have separate identity and their shares are traded in stock exchanges. Public limited companies normally using PLC at the end of their name. They have minimum capital requirement which is not the case in above two company’s formation type. The public limited company has also limited liability as private limited company.

 

When companies are required to gather huge amount of capital, the efficient and effective way is generate capital by forming public limited company. For startups, it’s better to form private limited company initially rather than public limited company. Normally shares of public limited companies are owned by investment and pension funds.

Companies in the UK are governed by the government department called Companies House who moderate and maintain a directory of all companies in the UK