A limited company must have at least one director – there is no upper limit.
The directors are responsible for the management and day to day operations of the company and have a duty to be aware of the company’s financial situation at all times.
The Companies Act lays down strict rules regarding the duties and conduct of directors, and it is worthwhile investigating such rules upon taking any such appointment. Acting as a director is a serious issue, and you should not consider doing so unless you will be fully aware of the company’s activities.
Directors have a personal responsibility to ensure that matters of company law are adhered to at all times and can be held personally liable for non-filing of Companies House documents and other infringements of law conducted by a company.
There are no restrictions of nationality or residency of UK company officers.
Company Secretary
We can act as your company secretary.
The secretary can be a director
The secretary can be a corporate body
The secretary, very broadly speaking, is usually responsible for administrative matters concerning the company. It is generally the duty of the secretary to maintain official company minute books, statutory registers and prepare and file any necessary documents required by Companies House, such as changes to directors , confirmation statements and accounts.
The secretary is answerable to the directors and is often called upon to keep the directors advised of changes in company law affecting the running of the company.
There are no restrictions on nationality or residency.
Nominee secretaries are often appointed in order to fulfil this role in a professional capacity.
Shareholders
A company can have any number of shareholders – or members, holding any number of shares. There must be at least one shareholder.
As with directors and the company secretary, this becomes a matter of public record and there are specific rules regarding the transfer of shares between shareholders.
There is no stamp duty payable on allotments of new shares, but stamp duty is payable in most circumstances when transferring shares from one shareholder to another.
Shareholders can be resident anywhere in the world and can be of any nationality.
In general, the rules regarding shares are quite complex, although, with the vast majority of companies, there is little to consider other than the initial allotment of shares, which need not change from year to year.
It is sometimes necessary to maintain the confidentiality of the identity of shareholders, we can provide a nominee shareholder service to whom shares can be registered.
In these circumstances, a confidential declaration of trust is signed by our nominees, ensuring the beneficial owner maintains control of the shares.
Registered Office
A UK company must have a registered office address. This address must be within the borders of England or Wales.
Scottish (SC) & Northern Irish (NI) registered companies are dealt with through a separate office located in Edinburgh or Belfast .
Whilst both locations are subject to the same Companies Act and the same rules and regulations in respect of general matters, a peculiarity of Company Law prevents a company moving its place of registration from one to the other.
There is no restriction in moving from England to Wales or vice versa.
The registered office, recorded at Companies House, provides a point of contact for correspondence from sources such as Companies House itself, the Inland Revenue and other parties wishing to make formal contact with the company.
A general post office box cannot be used, and it should be noted that Companies House is likely to reject any address which does not appear on the official Post Office lists of addresses.
Whilst there is no reason to prevent companies from being registered at the home address of one of its directors, this is often not satisfactory for companies that do not operate out of business premises.
We can provide you with a registered office address, and if required, a commercial mail forwarding service is also available.
