Public Limited Company – PLC

Impress your customers with a PLC. We can incorporate a tailor-made PLC for you with your own choice of name. The primary difference between Public Limited Company (PLC) and a Private Limited Company (Ltd) is the Public Company’s shares may be offered for sale to the general public.

Advantage of a Public Company

A PLC has access to capital markets and can offer its shares for sale to the public through a recognised stock exchange. It can also issue advertisements offering any of its securities for sale to the public. In contrast, a private company may not offer to the public any shares in itself.

The prestige of having PLC at the end of your company name is substantial.

• Access to capital markets
• Offer its shares for sale to the public through a stock exchange
• Advertise its shares for sale to the public
• Increased status because of the larger capital base

PLC Requirements

• Company shareholders and directors need not be from the UK
• There must be 2 directors
• There is no maximum number of directors
• Directors can be corporate bodies or private individuals
• A director can be of any nationality
• All companies must appoint a company secretary
• Secretaries can be corporate bodies or private individuals
• The company secretary can be of any nationality
• Share Capital of £50,000 of which 25% must be paid up
• The company is required to have a Registered Office in the UK

Starting Trading as a PLC – Certificate to commence trading

A newly incorporated PLC must not begin a business or exercise any borrowing powers until it has a certificate issued under section 117 of the Companies Act 1985 confirming that the company has issued share capital of £50,000. We can get this certificate from Companies House by completing Form 117 and once issued, the certificate is proof that the company is entitled to commence trading and borrow.

Public Limited Companies

A public limited company is a company which is registered as such and complies with the following:

• It must state that it is a public limited company both in its memorandum and in its name. The memorandum must contain a clause stating that it is a public limited company and the name must end with Public Limited Company or PLC
• The memorandum must be in the form specified in Table F of the Tables or as near to that form as circumstances permit
• It must have an authorised share capital of at least £50,000
• Before it can start business, it must have allotted shares to the value of at least £50,000. A quarter of them, £12,500, must be paid up. Each allotted share must be paid up to at least one-quarter of its nominal value together with the whole of any premium

Issue shares in another currency

A PLC can issue shares in another currency if it has passed the necessary resolutions to adopt that currency as part of its authorised capital and given the directors the authority to allot that capital. However, it must always have at least the authorised minimum of £50,000 sterling in issued capital, irrespective of what other currency it uses. A company may use as many currencies as it wishes for its share capital.

Start business

A newly formed PLC must not begin business or exercise any borrowing powers until it has a certificate issued under section 117 of the Companies Act 1985 confirming that the company has issued share capital of at least the statutory minimum. You can get this certificate from Companies House by completing Form 117. Once issued, the certificate is proof that the company is entitled to do business and borrow.

Requirements

A PLC must have at least two members and at least two company directors. The secretary (or each joint secretary) must also be a person who appears to the directors to have the necessary knowledge and ability to fulfil the functions and who:

Held the office of secretary or assistant or deputy secretary; or

For at least three of the five years before their appointment, held the office of secretary of a non-private company; or

Is a barrister, advocate or solicitor called or admitted in any part of the United Kingdom; or

Is a person who, by virtue of his or her previous experience or membership of another body, appears to the directors to be capable of discharging the functions of secretary; or

Is a member of any of the following bodies:

• Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales;
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland;
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland;
• Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators;
• Chartered Association of Certified Accountants;
• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants; or
• Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

A PLC normally has only seven months after the end of its accounting reference period to deliver its accounts to the Registrar.

A PLC cannot take advantage of many of the provisions and exceptions applying to private companies under the Act, such as audit exemptions for small private companies.