Overview
The United Kingdom has always been one of the top destinations for investments and business because of its well-equipped infrastructure, high quality facilities, strong governance and well-implemented rules and regulations.
The process to register a company in the UK can be completed remotely and there are no restrictions regarding the nationality of the shareholders or the directors.
Our UK leadership team places a greater emphasis on client service compared to other service providers in India. As a result, this has helped us to become the most preferred business support partner in India.
Benefits
- The regulatory and legal requirements for registering a company only takes a few days to navigate. The World Bank found that it takes 13 days to set up a business in the UK, compared to the European average of 32 days. It ranks the UK first in Europe and sixth in the world to operate a business.
- The British Government provides a number of financial schemes that offer sizable tax benefits.
- The OECD noted that the UK is second in the world for Product Market Regulation and is only behind Australia, has the least restrictions to entrepreneurship in the world and has the third least barriers to investment and trade in the world.
- The United Kingdom has an extremely efficient communication system and has the most extensive broadband market among the G7 countries and one of the strongest ICT infrastructures in the world.
- Speaking in the international language of business: Operating in English gives firms in the UK a natural advantage when communicating globally.
Documents & information
For starting up a business in the United Kingdom, we will require the following documents and information:
Constitutional documents
The Memorandum of Association: a short document confirming the owners intention to form the company and to become members of that company on incorporation.
The Articles of Association: the company’s principal constitutional document, which contains in detail all the administrative provisions of the company’s operations that are agreed by its members. It sets out how the important decisions are taken by the members and directors, as well as various matters connected with the shares, general meetings of the members, appointment and powers of directors, board resolutions and notices, helping to ensure that the company’s business runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
Company name
A UK private limited company can choose any name provided that it is distinctive and it cannot be identical to another.
Registered office
Your company should have a physical address in the UK. This is where official communications will be sent such as correspondence from Companies House and HM Revenue and Customs department.
First officers
The First Officers consist of the following:
Directors
A private limited company must have at least one director who is a living individual, at least 16 years of age and not disqualified from being a director. It is advisable to have at least two directors to ensure continuity should one of them resign or be unable to act.
The Articles of Association usually contains provisions on how the directors should manage the company affairs and how the directors may exercise all the powers conferred by its members and in accordance with their fiduciary, common law and statutory duties.
Company secretary
A private limited company does not have to mandatorily appoint a Company Secretary unless the same is specifically mentioned in the articles of the company. A company secretary can be an individual or an organization.
Statement of capital
This statement provides the details of the shares of the company and their valuation. There can be numerous classes of shares with different rights such as voting rights, dividend rights, capital rights and redemption rights.
Persons with significant control
Any person with significant control must be registered on the incorporation of the company. The purpose of the same is to improve corporate trust and transparency by making it clear who ultimately controls the company.
A person with significant control is an individual or legal entity who meets one or more conditions relating to share ownership, voting rights, appointment of directors or exercises control of the company.
Company registration for non-UK residents
The registration procedure for non-UK residents is very much similar as for residents living in the UK. There are no restrictions on foreigners being a director, shareholder, or secretary. You even need not have to live in the UK for starting a company. But your company must be registered with Companies House in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland (depending on the location of the company).
Requirements for registering a UK Limited company:
Company Name: The name of your company should be unique and should not contain any prohibited words.
Director: Only one director is required for the company formation but there is no limit to the number of directors you can appoint. The age of every director should be 16+
Shareholder: Only one shareholder is required but there is no limit to the number of shareholders you can appoint.
Registered address: This address of the company must mandatorily be in the UK and will appear on the public register.
Directors service address: Each director, secretary and PSC must provide a service address for Companies House. This address can be located anywhere in the world but it will be on the public record.