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Limited Company Formation (Limited by Shares)

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A Limited by Shares Company, most commonly known as a Limited Company is our most popular type of UK Incorporation. This type of company is a legal entity which exists separately from its owners. As the company is a separate legal entity from the people running the company, they will not be responsible for the company’s debts. This allows them to keep their personal and business finances separate.

Our comprehensive packages for Limited Company formations are shown below. If any of the packages do not suit your requirements, please contact us and we can tailor make a package to suit your specific requirements.

Please click here to view the services we offer.

Most Popular

Reserve a Company Name The simple and easy way to reserve / protect a company name£13.50

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Package
The standard package, providing all legal documents by email.£27.95

Premium Package The standard package printed in a hard copy format.£44.95

Privacy Package Privacy protection for you, using our address as the director's correspondence & Registered Office address.£119.00

International (Non-Resident) Especially tailored for non-residents incorporating a company in the UK. Includes all the required addresses, services & VAT registration for you to legally start a business in the UK.£149.00

Business Package The complete professional package, including our Registered Office, nominee Secretary & Fraud Protection.£159.00

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Fast Online Formation It’s quick and easy to complete our online application, it takes approximately 3-4 minutes. Your company should be ready to trade in 3 hours, our quickest time is 6 minutes (subject to Companies House).
Government Fees Companies House Registration Fees are included in all of our packages and prices. There are no hidden extras.
Emailed Certificate of Incorporation A PDF version of your Certificate of Incorporation. This is an official document which confirms your company name and company number.
Ready to Trade Company As soon as your application has been approved by Companies House, your new limited company will be ready to trade.
Free UK Bank Account Referral A Free Referral to a UK Bank for UK Residents only
3 Months Free Accountancy Accountancy using cloud based software FREE for 3 months. Excluding VAT returns & after 3 months will revert to standard rate
Free Google Adwords Voucher (worth £75) For Individual Clients only. We are delighted to offer you an Adwords voucher of up to £75, when you spend £25.00 with Google
Emailed Official Company Documents Once your company has been formed we will email you a completed set of your new official company register documents and share certificate.
Free Trademark Referral A free Trademark Referral to protect your Company Name against being used without your permission.
Emailed Memorandum of Association A PDF version of your Memorandum. This is a statement which shows the subscribers intention to form a company under the Companies Act 2006.
Emailed Articles of Association A PDF version of your Articles of Association. The Articles are basically the rules of your company, outline the Director’s responsibilities and provide information on the type of business.
Emailed Share Certificate(s) An electronic version of your Share Certificate. This is a legal document which confirms the ownership of the Shares within your company.
Emailed Company Register An electronic version of your Company Register fully completed with the first entries from your company registration.
Emailed Minutes of First Meeting An electronic version of a suggested initial board meeting where the initial resolutions for your company were passed.
Authentication Code For added security to your company. This code is unique to your company, and can be used to make electronic changes. Not many Company Formation Agents provide this service.
Emailed Reminders We will email you to remind you when your accounts and confirmation statement are due, to ensure you will never be late
Laminated Certificate of Incorporation The Certificate of Incorporation is an essential document that confirms your company exists. It is recommended that you have a printed version of this certificate which we can laminate.
Bound Company Register Includes your Certificate of Incorporation, Memorandum of Association, Minutes of First Board Meeting, Company Register with First Entries and Share Certificate printed and professionally bound together.
Laminated Memorandum of Association The Memorandum of Association outlines the subscriber’s intention to form a company under the Companies Act 2006. Therefore, it is recommended that you have a hard copy of this document.
Printed Certificate of Incorporation A printed copy of your Certificate of Incorporation included in your bound company register. This is an official document which confirms your company name and company number.
Printed Share Certificate(s) A printed copy of your Share Certificate included in your bound company register. This is a legal document which confirms the ownership of the shares within your company.
Printed Memorandum of Association A printed copy of your Memorandum included in your bound company register. This is a statement which shows the subscribers intention to form a company under the Companies Act 2006.
Printed Articles of Association A printed copy of your Articles of Association. The Articles are basically the rules of your company, outline the Director’s responsibilities and provide information on the type of business.
London Wood Green Registered Office This provides your company with a Registered Address located on Wood Green in London, the capital city of the UK. Your address will be protected as our address will appear on public records. The service is for Official Letters, which includes letters from HMRC and Companies House
London Wood Green Correspondence Address Our London, Wood Green Correspondence Address service for 1 Director. This address is shown on public records for the officers within your company. Using this will prevent your private address from being displayed on the Public Records
Fraud Protection The Fraud Protection service helps protect your company from Fraudsters. This stops most paper documents from being filed for your company, forms can be filed electronically using your unique code.
Prestigious London Registered Office This provides your company with a Prestigous Registered Address located on Regent Street in London, the capital city of the UK. Your address will be protected as our address will appear on public records. The service is for Official Letters, which includes letters from HMRC and Companies House
Nominee Secretary Protect your identity, CFS will be appointed as Nominee Secretary of your company.
VAT Registration Assistance with obtaining a unique VAT Number for your company It is optional to apply for VAT. However, if your taxable supplies exceed £85,000 in 1 year, you must register for VAT

Limited Company explained

  • A Limited Company is the most popular incorporation in the UK because of its simple and flexible business structure.
  • This type of company is required to have a Shareholder and Director, the Shareholders can also be known as the owners of the company.
  • A Limited Company has shareholders who are allocated shares.
  • A confirmation statement and accounts must be filed each year.
  • All shares within a Limited Company must be allocated to the Shareholders.
  • If one member of the company should pull out, the company can still function unlike other types of companies.
  • The company name is protected after registration. No other company is legally permitted to trade under the same company name in the UK.

You can register a Limited Company with just one person acting as the director and shareholder of the company. The directors are responsible for the day to day running of the company. The extent of their responsibilities are outlined in the Articles of Association.

You are able to appoint corporate officers to a Limited Company, however you cannot just have corporate officers, an individual director must also be appointed.

You are able to appoint a secretary to a Limited Company, although a secretary is no longer a requirement.

Once all company information has been submitted to the company registrar, a Limited Company formation usually takes 3 to 24 hours (dependent on the company registrar) to complete, and is then ready to trade. However; we have previously incorporated a company in six minutes.

Requirements for a Limited Company formation

  • The company name must end with either ‘Limited' or ‘LTD'.
  • The Registered Office Address must be located in the UK. We can supply an address if required.
  • A Minimum of 1 Individual Company Director and 1 Company Shareholder must be appointed (they can be the same person.)
  • The Officers can be of any nationality and reside anywhere in the world.
  • Name and Address of the Director and Subscriber/Member. The company directors' and subscribers' personal address is hidden from public record.
  • The minimum Share Capital is £0.01
  • There is no maximum Share Capital.
  • Minimum number of shares which must be issued is 1.
  • All company shares must be issued to a Shareholder

Why use us for your limited company formation?

We are a leading UK company formation agent and are highly experienced in setting up limited companies and our UK business start-up team are there to help you with your formation, from start to finish.

We have the ability to form your limited company electronically, eliminating the need to sign and complete any paperwork and ensuring you're able to set up a company hassle free.

All details are entered online, before you submit and pay for your company you are able to review all company details you have provided. From here you can also amend anything if necessary. Once your company has been incorporated you will receive your Certificate of Incorporation and Share Certificate(s) confirming the existence of your company plus many other fully completed documents in your Company Register. Our standard package includes all the documents you need legally to start trading with your company. This is quite unique as most companies charge extra for providing a company register, share certificates, minutes of the first meeting etc.

We have the software which allows you to adopt/upload your own specific Articles of Association to your company free of charge, or alternatively, you can use the model articles we provide.

How long does a limited company formation take?

As a leading UK company formation agent, we make the company formation process as easy as possible when forming your limited company.

Once we've received all the company documents from you, our fastest company formation time is six minutes, however, this process is dependent on the companies house workload at the time.

When you register a company with us, you can usually expect to have access within 3 - 24 hours.

What are the ongoing commitments for a limited company?

Confirmation Statement

As a company director, you have certain responsibilities and are legally required to submit specific company documents to HMRC and Companies House on an annual basis.

The first thing you'll need to ensure you're submitting is a confirmation statement. A confirmation statement ensures that Companies House has all the correct company details, including business activity, addresses, shareholder information, persons with significant control and more.

All companies must file a confirmation statement on an annual basis, this includes a dormant company.

Annual Accounts

You're also responsible for preparing annual accounts for Companies House. These accounts report on the financial details of the company over the year.

When to file and how to file your annual accounts with Companies House depends on the size of the company in the UK, as well as when the company formation took place.

CFS are able to file both dormant and prepared trading accounts. We offer a free accountancy referral if you need support with your trading accounts.

It is important to file your accounts on time as filing penalties are chargeable for late or incorrect filings.

Corporation Tax & Company Tax Return

Within 3 months of your company formation, at least one director will need to register for corporation tax with HMRC.

You'll then need to prepare and submit company tax return and annual accounts for HMRC on an annual basis. Again the dates for these filings are dependent on your company structure and date of company registration.

VAT & PAYE

Once your company's annual income reaches and exceeds £85,000, you'll need to register your company for VAT.

Going forward you'll need to file VAT returns and pay VAT.

At this point, you may have employees, or be paying at least one director via a salary. This means you will have to register your company for PAYE.

Business Bank Account

When you register your company with us, we're able to refer you to one of our business banking partners which can help you set up your business bank account.

Having a business bank account for your limited company is imperative as it allows you to keep your business finances separate and will be necessary for any accountancy services you use.

Any of the company directors can open a business bank account and we recommend that you do this quickly after your company formation.

Registered Office Address Services

Our registered office address services allow you to keep your residential address hidden when your new company formation is completed. Every limited company that is formed must have a registered address and our registered office service allows the company directors to maintain their privacy.

We have offices available across the UK. Take a look at all of the options on our registered office address service page.