Company Formation
Company Formation FAQ's
- Do the Company Warehouse supply 'shelf companies'?
- Why is there no paperwork to sign?
- Can I choose any name for my company?
- What are sensitive words?
- Why do I need to worry about Registered Trademarks?
- What are the requirements for registering a limited company?
- Can anyone be a company director?
- Who should act as the company secretary?
- How should I allocate shares in my company?
- What is the registered office?
- What are the memorandum and articles of association?
- Does The Company Warehouse charge more to incorporate my limited company if I order by fax or telephone?
- What is the certificate of incorporation?
- What is a combined company register?
- Which formation package is best for me?
Answers
- Do the Company Warehouse supply 'shelf companies'?
No. All our company formation packages are for new companies
formed using your details. A 'shelf company' is one where the formation
agent forms the company with their details as the company director, secretary
and shareholder. When you purchase one of these companies the agent will
resign as the company director and secretary and transfer the shares to
you. There is all perfectly legal. However stamp duty (currently £10) is
payable to transfer the shares to your name. Buying a 'shelf company' is
therefore more expensive, takes longer and involves signing paperwork that
the formation agent will send to you.
- Why is there no paperwork to sign?
Traditional 'paper based' incorporations require the signatures
of the company officers to confirm that they consent to act for the company.
The Company Warehouse is able to take 3 details of personal information
from the following list and supply these with the application to Companies
House. The personal information forms an 'electronic equivalent' to a paper
signature.
Mother's Maiden Name
Telephone Number
Passport Number
National Insurance Number
Father's Forename
Eye Colour
Town of Birth
- Can I choose any name for my company?
Yes, you can choose any name you like as long as it is not
already registered, or too similar to an existing company name or likely
to cause offence. Some words in company names are however restricted or
forbidden, these are called 'sensitive words'. You should also check that
your name, or part of your name has not been registered as a Trademark by
somebody else.
- What are sensitive words?
Our online company name search tool will tell you if the
name you have chosen contains a sensitive word. A full list of sensitive words is available. If a word is restricted
we can still register your company but must show Companies House that there
is a good reason for using the word. There is an extra fee for this service.
Please see our price list or call us if this affects you.
- Why do I need to worry about Registered Trademarks?
Simple, the company name 'Virgin Clothing UK Limited' is not registered
and is not too similar to any other company name registered. 'Virgin' however
is a protected trademark. Choosing a name like this would mean you may have
to change it later which would be very costly. It is possible that your
company might be sued and have to pay damages to the owner of the Trademark.
We recommend that you check the register of Trademarks with the Patent
Office or for a small fee we will carry out the checks for you.
- What are the requirements for registering a limited
company?
Every company must have at least one Director, a Company
Secretary and at least one shareholder (sometimes called members). The directors
are responsible for running the company. The Company Secretary must ensure
that the company conforms with current legislation, for instance they are
responsible for filing legal paperwork relating to the company with companies
house (such as changes of director, shareholders and addresses). The shareholders
are the people that actually own the company.
- Can anyone be a company director?
Yes, provided that they have not been disqualified from doing
so by a court anybody may act as a company director
- Who should act as the company secretary?
Anybody may act as the Company Secretary of a private limited
company. A person may consent to act as both the Company Secretary and be
a Director of the same company (provide there are at least two people).
If you wish to form a company and only have one director you can use our
Company Secretarial service to act as your Company Secretary. There is a
small fee for using this service in addition to fees for completing and
filing documents at Companies House. Some documents also require the payment
of a filing fee to Companies House.
- How should I allocate shares in my company?
By law there must be at least one shareholder who subscribes
to take at least one share. All our company formation packages incorporate
your company with 1000 shares of £1.00 value each. It is usual practice
to take the minimum number of shares required to reflect the overall percentage
shareholding in a company. For example:
- a) Mr Smith wants to own 100% of the issued shares in Company X Limited.
Mr Smith would take 1 share leaving the Company with 999 un-issued shares.
- b) Mr Smith and Miss Jones want to own 50% each of the issued shares
of Company X Limited. Mr Smith will take 1 share, Miss Jones will take
1 share, leaving the company with 998 un-issued shares.
- c) Mr Smith wants to own 80% and Miss Jones 20% of the issued shares
of Company X Limited. Mr Smith will take 4 shares, Miss Jones will take
1 share, leaving the company with 995 un-issued shares.
If you require advice regarding the shareholding for your
limited company please contact our sales team.
- What is the registered office?
The registered office must be an address in England and Wales, or Scotland
where legal documents can be served on your company. This address is kept
on the Companies House database and is available for anybody to inspect
free of charge. This address must also be written on all your company correspondence
such as letterheads and invoices. It is quite common to use a director's
or company secretary's home address as the registered office address. The
Company Warehouse offers a Registered Office address service if you wish
to keep your home details separate from your company details. There is a
small annual fee for this service that includes forwarding up to 10 items
of statutory and legal mail each year.
- What are the memorandum and articles of association?
The memorandum and articles of association are legal documents
that set out:
- The Company Name;
- The Registered Office location;
- The objects of the company; and
- The internal constitution of the company.
You will probably be asked for this document when you open
a bank account for your company. All our companies are incorporated using
standard 'general commercial company' memorandum and articles. These are
written in a way that is designed to enable your company to carry out any
business activity and to minimise the administrative requirements on the
company.
- Does The Company Warehouse charge more to incorporate my limited company if I order by fax or telephone?
Yes. There is a £5.00 surcharge for Fax Application and £10.00 for surcharge for companies ordered over the telephone.
- What is the certificate of incorporation?
This is the document that confirms that Companies House has incorporated
your company name and states the date of incorporation and the company
number. This should be printed on 160gm ivory card.
- What is a combined company register ?
It is a LEGAL REQUIREMENT in The Companies Act 1985 that states a Limited Company must keep registers of the following:
- Register of Members (shareholders)
- Register of Directors and Secretaries
- Register of Directors interests
- Register of Mortgages and Charges
- Register of Debentures
- Minutes of Directors and General Meetings
- Share Certificates
Our premier formation package includes a hard backed notebook known as 'Combined Company Register' for this purpose. When you receive your company documents you will need to complete the registration details in the register yourself.
If you want us to complete your company registers for you please add the following products to your order (note these can be added to either the Standard or Premier packages:
-
Minutes of first board meeting
- Sharepack
- Director's pack.
- Which formation package is best for me?
Non Trading Company Formation:
Designed for clients who want to protect a company name but have no plans to trade the company in the near future. This product is popular with sole traders who may wish to transfer their business into a limited company at a future date.
Electronic Company Formation:
Our “budget” company formation package and we believe the 1st “trading” company package to be offered in the UK for under £40!
Popular with solicitors and accountants who are able to complete their own statutory registers and are setting up the company on behalf of clients for whom a priority service is not necessary.
Not recommended for clients who need to protect a name or trade their company quickly or for clients that may need to produce “hard copies” of their registration documents (for instance in opening a company bank account). We recommend upgrading to either our Standard or Premier Formation package for these clients.
Standard Company Formation:
Best for clients seeking a cost effective company formation solution including hard copies of legal documents used in the registration of the company. Hard copies documents will often make opening a bank account easier. We give these packages a higher priority than our electronic formation package orders.
Premier Company Formation:
Given “Fast Track” status and priority over ALL other company registration packages, if you want to jump to the front of the queue when registering your company, this is the package for you!
This package is best for clients who require the fastest levels of service for the registration of their limited company. Popular with solicitors, accountants, contractors and just about anybody who needs to get trading FAST.
The package also includes some FREE features for other products and services available from TheCompanyWarehouse.co.uk. This is the only Company Formation Package that can be “upgraded” to a GUARANTEED SAMEDAY COMPANY FORMATION service.
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