FAQs on Company incorporation in United Kingdom

The United Kingdom plays a pivotal role in international trade and economy. The process of incorporation of a company is fairly easy and can be completed within 24 hours without any requirement of physical appearance of the owner or directors. Also, there are no restrictions regarding the nationality of the shareholders or the directors.

” According to various rankings, the UK is among top countries for ease of doing business which means that the company formation and starting new business operations for your company in the UK will bring you comparatively low expenses and opportunities for starting your business rather easily without unnecessary formalities. “

By registering a company in the UK, we can gain access to better commercial opportunities as you create an image of a stable and professional business. The benefits of setting up a company in the UK is that one is able to open foreign bank accounts in the UK or elsewhere in the world, you can have tax advantages due to a low tax regime and expand your business in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world.

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. A company can either adopt a form of Model Articles defined by Statute or adopt their own Bespoke Articles.

There is no requirement to reserve the company’s name prior to its incorporation. In the meantime, it is necessary to follow certain rules when naming your company and filing the company’s name together with incorporation documents.

The Companies House will refuse to register a company name if it is offensive or implies a connection with central or local government, or with some public authorities. The company name cannot be similar to existing trade mark, and contain a sensitive word or expression. 

There is no requirement to reserve the company’s name prior to its incorporation in the UK. In the meantime, it is necessary to follow certain rules in order to register a company name in the UK. The Companies House will refuse to register a company name if:

  • the proposed name contains a sensitive word or expression;
  • the proposed name is offensive;
  • it implies a connection with central or local government, or with some public authorities;
  • it is similar to already existing names of companies;
  • it is similar to a registered trademark.

Similar names mean that they are fully identical, or differ either with only a symbol, or a word is common in the UK, or a word is identical in appearance from the existing name.

For this reason, before the company name is chosen, it is necessary to check for similar and identical names in the Registrar of Companies prior to filing registration documents. In addition, your lawyer should conduct a trademark search within registered trademarks and trademarks being in process of registration. If your company is identical to any trademark, such trademark holder can dispute your name.

Yes, it is necessary have a registered address in the UK as this address is used for official communications (such as letters from HM Revenue and Customs). The information about registered address is publicly available.

All incorporation procedures at the UK Companies House takes 2 days. The total term of company formation in the UK with opening a bank account is 2-3 weeks, provided that the bank does not request for additional documents as a part of an identity check.

When the applicant submits the documents online for company incorporation, the company incorporation certificate is sent to you using the same method.

However, you can order a certificate of incorporation with certified facts related to your company. This service is also provided by the Companies House which is subject to additional statutory fee.

The certificate of incorporation contains facts held in the official register, including company number, names of each director, name of secretary, registered office address. Upon request, the certificate can be accompanied with good standing wording meaning a confirmation that a company has been in continuous, unbroken existence since its incorporation.

For UK private company registration, visit the official site Register your company – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) here.