Q. What information will be made publicly available? 

The following information will be publicly available with regards to your company and its shareholders:

• Your company’s registered office address;
• Shareholders’ names, addresses and how many and what shares they own;
• The total number of shares in issue;
• For each director, their name, nationality, occupation, month and year of their date of birth, and a “service address” (which can be the company’s address);
• If you have a company secretary, which you don’t have to as a private company, their name and a service address; and
• For each “person with significant control” or PSC, the same details as for each director plus details of how they control the company – that’s usually ownership of 25% or more of the share capital, so will generally include the founders.

Q. Can someone set up my company for me?

Yes, there are third party agents who can be appointed to incorporate a private UK company on your behalf. All you need to provide is certain information as set out in our guide here.

Q.  What can I call my company?

There are certain rules and restrictions on what you can call your company, the most prominent one being that you must ensure the name is not being used by, or too similar to the name of, another company. Read our guide here for more.

Q.  How much does it cost to set up a business in the UK?

The basic cost to incorporate a company is £12, if you do it yourself with Companies House, but agents will offer to help with the process for a fee and often offer extra services as part of bundled packages (for example, managing your Companies House filings, the provision of a registered office address, or the provision of a service address for directors/PSCs).

Q.  How long will it take to set up my private company?

Applications are usually processed within 24 hours, but same- day incorporations are also available if that is what you may need.

Q.  Do I need to be from, and live in, the UK in order to set up a UK company?

No, there are no restrictions on where a director or shareholder of a UK company is originally from, or lives, therefore anyone can set up a UK company from any origin. There might be practical issues, for example opening a bank account may require a physical meeting or visit to a branch.

Q.  Do I need to appoint a secretary?

No, a private company is not required to appoint a secretary.

Q.  Do my directors need to be of a UK nationality?

No, there are no UK residence or nationality requirements for directors.  

Q. Do I have to use an address in the United Kingdom for my registered office address, and what if I have no address in the UK?

Yes, it must be an address in the United Kingdom, and it cannot be a foreign or international address. Third party agents provide registered office address services which you can use. 

Bear in mind that your registered office must be an address where a human person can accept a document on the company’s behalf – so no P.O. boxes or unmonitored addresses.  Aany correspondence sent to your registered office counts as received by the company – including if that correspondence is court papers because someone is suing you! Whatever your registered office address is, make sure it’s somewhere that will generally be accessible and/or forward your mail.

Q.  Do I have to provide an email address?

Companies House requires companies to provide an appropriate registered email address, i.e. an address where emails would be expected to come to the attention of a person acting on behalf of the company.  Companies House will use this email address to communicate with the recipient about the company.  The email address won’t be publicly available.  

Q.  Is there a minimum or maximum number of directors I can appoint?

You must have at least one human director, who must be aged 16 or older, and there is no maximum number of directors unless the company imposes such a restriction in its articles of association. The company may also appoint companies as directors if it wants to, though that is very rare in startups.

Q.  What are Articles of Association?

The Articles of Association are the internal rulebook on how the company is to be run. If you do not have specific details when you want to set up a company, a set of Model Articles can be used, which is a standard pre-approved document. This can act as a starting point to be amended later according to the company’s needs.

Q.  What is Companies House?

The governmental body in charge of the regulation and incorporation of limited liability partnerships and companies in the United Kingdom.