Posts tagged legalized

Companies House is an Executive Agency of the Government of United Kingdom under the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. All limited companies operating in UK have to be registered with Companies House. They must also file particular details as stated by the Companies Act 1985. All limited companies, subsidiaries, and even small and dormant companies must file annual financial statements and company returns with Companies House, which are made available to the public.

Foreign companies (mentioned in the UK legislation as “oversea companies”) which operate in UK through a branch or “place of business”, have to register with the agency and submit annual financial statements, annual returns and other required information. Even companies officially under European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG), that is, companies formed by the collaboration of two or more companies based in different European countries, must also register under Companies House and file their financial statements. The financial statements submitted must apply to the whole entity, not the particular branch or “place of business”. It does not matter whether the financial statements of a particular company are made available to the public in its home country.

Companies House recognizes many types of companies, including:

1. Public Limited Company (PLC)

2. Private company limited by shares (denoted by Ltd or Limited)

3. Private Company Limited by Guarantee, basically a non-commercial membership body (such as a charity house).

4. Unlimited Company

5. Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)

6. Limited partnership (LP)

7. Societas Europaea (SE), which is the European Union-wide company structure

8. Companies incorporated by Royal Charter (RC)

9. Community interest company

Besides paying the required fees, the owners of companies have to file some documents and forms in order to register their businesses officially. These are,

1. Memorandum of Association – contains details such as the company name, registered office address (in the United Kingdom), and the nature of the company’s business. Before delivery, it has to be signed by the applicant(s) in front of a witness who will attest the signature(s).

2. Articles of Association – contains details about the rules and regulations of the company. It must be signed by the applicant(s) in front of a witness who will attest the signature(s).

3. FORM 10 – contains details about the company’s directors, secretary and the registered address of the office. Additionally, each listed officer of the company must provide details, such as their date of birth, occupation and details of any previous directorships they have had during the last five years. Each officer listed in the document and each subscriber must sign the form and mention the date of signing.

4. FORM 12 – is a statutory declaration of compliance with all the requirements that are related to the company formation. It has to be signed by a solicitor or by any officer listed in the form 10. It must be signed in the presence of a Commissioner for Oaths, a notary public or a justice for the peace of a solicitor.

Once these documents are filed properly, registration of a company with Companies House is completed.