We have carefully tailored our company formations packages to include all the basic items you will need to successfully register a company.
£9.99 +vat
£9.99 +vat
£9.99 +vat
£4.99 +vat
£29.99 +vat
£29.99 +vat
£19.99 +vat
£39.99 +vat
£39.99 +vat
Limited companies ordinarily have three crucial roles that need to be filled: director, shareholder and secretary. These roles can all be filled by the same person, or all three can be filled by different people. In some cases, they could be filled by dozens of people.
But before you get started inviting colleagues to buy shares in your company or volunteer to become a company secretary, it is worth learning more about each role and what responsibilities they will be expected to fulfil.
Limited companies are owned by members who own a part, or ‘share’, of that company. These individuals are known as shareholders. Limited by guarantee companies do not have shareholders. Instead, their company members are called guarantors. Any individual or corporate body can be a shareholder. As partial owners of the company, shareholders are typically entitled to receive a percentage of business profits in the form of dividends.The main duties of a shareholder are to appoint directors and determine their rights, make special company decisions and provide financial security in the event of insolvency. This financial security is commonly referred to as ‘limited liability’ and usually carries a nominal value of £1 per share owned.
Most limited company draft a shareholders’ agreement to protect the rights of each company owner. These agreements usually include details on the prescribed particulars of each share, rules on how and when new shares can be issued and guidelines on the decision-making process for big company changes.
If you would like to add new shareholders during the company formation process, this can be done quickly and easily using our online company formation application. If you would like to add more shareholders after incorporating your company, you are free to do so at any time – but you must do so by sending an updated annual return to Companies House. You are free to send this updated annual return at the time of issuing a new share or at the time of your original annual return deadline.
The same process can be followed in order to remove a company shareholder.
A company director is the person responsible for managing a company’s day-to-day activities. This individual is responsible for company finances and operational activities, and is appointed by shareholders to make that company a financial success. A company director is usually granted a certain set of powers by their company’s shareholders.
There aren’t many rules about who can or cannot be a company director. A director can be a real person or a corporate body, a shareholder, guarantor or company secretary. The only major restrictions on who can be a company director are:
You must appoint at least one company director on your company formation application when registering a limited company with Trust Formations. That being said, it is a relatively simple process to add a company director after the incorporation process.All you need to do is sign into your Trust Formations online account and enter the details of your new company director. This information will automatically be sent to Companies House, and the public register will be updated within a matter of hours.
You can remove a company director in the same way.
A company secretary is the person or corporate body that has been appointed by a company’s shareholders or directors in order to assist company directors in the day-to-day running of that company. Typical duties include maintaining company records, preparing and filing documents with Companies House and HMRC and arranging board meetings.
Limited companies are no longer required to fill this role in the UK, but many companies find it useful. As with company directors, almost anyone or any company can be a secretary. The only restrictions that apply are as follows:
If you would like to add a company secretary during the company formation process, this can be done quickly and easily using our online company formation application. If you would like to add a secretary after incorporating your company, you are free to do so at any time, and can achieve this online. A company secretary can also be removed online.
Want to learn more about the roles these individuals have to play in company formation? Consult our Company Formation Guide.
Launching a new business can be a frightening experience. We aim to offer as much support and advice as we possibly can to help you succeed.