The following guide is designed to help you understand the minimum requirements you must fulfil in order to form a UK limited company (limited by shares).

UK limited companies have very few requirements or restrictions which is what makes them a simple yet flexible solution for many businesses.

The very minimum requirements are -

There must be one director and one company secretary. They can not be the same person unless there is another director. Basically there must be two different people appointed at all times.

• The company must have a registered office address in the UK. For companies registered in Scotland the address must be in Scotland.
• The chosen company name must not be exactly identical to any other company name currently held on the register at Companies House.
• The company must issue a minimum of one share at the time of incorporation

Other points worth remembering -

• The director, secretary and shareholders do not have to be based in the UK. Virtually anyone can own and manage a UK limited company.
• The address for directors must not be a PO Box. Certain countries use PO Boxes as standard, in which case a street name must also be supplied.
• Corporate bodies can act as director, secretary and shareholder. This can however make opening a bank account more difficult in some circumstances.