UK Company Formations

Forming a company is the easy part. Getting it right, so the structure still works when you raise investment, bring in a co-founder or sell, is what actually matters. Our UK company formation service covers the incorporation itself and everything that has to follow it.

What company formation actually involves

Incorporating is a legal act, not an administrative one. When Companies House registers your company, it creates a new legal person. That entity is legally separate from you. It owns its own assets, signs its own contracts and carries its own liabilities. That separation is the entire point of a limited company, and it is why the set-up deserves more care than a ten-minute web form.

Most UK businesses incorporate as private limited companies. The company formation process needs six things: a company name, a registered office address, at least one director, at least one shareholder, a statement of capital, and details of anyone with significant control.

The company documents you receive

On incorporation you get a complete set of company documents, not just a registration number:

• Your certificate of incorporation, confirming the company exists, with its registered number and date of birth;
• Articles of Association drafted for your situation rather than the default model articles;
• Share certificates for each shareholder;
• First board minutes and your statutory registers, including the register of people with significant control.

Directors and shareholders are not the same thing

Company directors run the business. Shareholders own it. In most owner-managed companies they are the same people, which is why the distinction gets forgotten, but the two roles carry very different duties. Directors have statutory responsibilities under the Companies Act, including filing obligations they remain personally accountable for. Shareholders hold rights over dividends, votes and capital.

Getting this clear at the outset matters, because the moment you add an investor or a co-founder, the difference between owning and running the business becomes the thing everyone argues about.

Registered office and address services

Every company needs a registered office in the UK. It is a public address, published on the register, where official post from Companies House and HMRC is served. Using your home is permitted and rarely wise, because it is then searchable by anyone.

Our address services provide both a registered office and a director's service address, keeping your home address off the public record while making sure statutory post actually reaches you.

Getting the share structure right

The shares you issue at incorporation shape everything that follows: control, dividends, and your ability to raise money. A company structure designed in five minutes routinely costs thousands to unpick later.

We design a structure that works for founders and stays compatible with SEIS and EIS, so you are investment-ready from the start rather than restructuring under time pressure mid-round. See our guide to SEIS vs EIS for UK startups, and, if you expect to reward a team with equity, EMI share option schemes.

Before you start trading

Incorporation is not permission to trade, it is the entity. Before you start trading you also need:

• A business bank account in the company's name. Because the company is a separate legal person, running its money through a personal account creates a directors' loan account and a reconciliation problem from day one. We can introduce you to business banking providers who onboard quickly.
• Corporation Tax registration with HMRC, required within three months of starting to trade.
• VAT registration where you expect to cross the threshold, and PAYE if you will pay yourself or anyone else a salary.

If you are not resident in the UK

You do not need to live here. There is no requirement for directors or shareholders to be UK residents, and we form companies for overseas founders regularly. You will still need a UK registered office, and every director must complete Companies House identity verification. Overseas founders should also expect business banking to take longer, which is worth starting early. Our guide to forming a UK subsidiary as a foreign parent covers inbound structures in more detail.

What happens after incorporation

A company creates permanent obligations, and they begin immediately:

• A confirmation statement at least once every twelve months. This is a legal requirement even for a company that has never traded, and it is the single most commonly missed filing;
• Annual accounts to Companies House;
• A Corporation Tax return, with the tax payable before the return is due, as our guide to corporation tax deadlines explains;
• Companies House identity verification for every director under the ECCTA rules, which we build into the process.

Forming a company with us

Forming a company through an accountant rather than a filing portal means the structure, the tax registrations and the first year of compliance are designed together. We set up your bookkeeping and tax planning at the same time, so the company is compliant and tax-efficient from its first day rather than its first year end.

Not sure whether you should incorporate at all? Our guide to sole trader vs limited company works through the tipping point, and LLP or limited company covers the third option.