This is our most popular package with UK residents, and includes: -
The registration of your company from scratch using your own registered office address, and appoint your own candidates to the roles of director, secretary (if needed), and shareholder;
The standard capital on formation is £1.00, this is divided into 1.00 ordinary share valued at £1.00 (a minimum of one share must be issued);
The formation of a limited company usually takes as little as four to six hours from the time that your application and payment are received by Coddan;
The government fee for incorporation is included in the price of this package;
The following documents, which need to be printed and signed, will be emailed to you upon formation of your company: -
A certificate of incorporation (requires PDF file reader);
The memorandum & articles of association (requires MS-Word file reader);
The first meeting of the board of directors (requires MS-Word file reader);
Share certificates and a company register (requires MS-Word file reader).
Economy Package
£ 82.00
Annual Maintenance Fee £50.00
This is our most popular package with UK and EU residents, and includes: -
The registration your company from scratch using one of our registered office addresses, and appoint your own candidates to the roles of director, secretary (if needed), and shareholder;
The standard capital on formation is £1.00, this is divided into 1.00 ordinary share valued at £1.00 (a minimum of one share must be issued);
The formation of a limited company usually takes as little as four to six hours from the time that your application and payment are received by Coddan;
The government fee for incorporation is included in the price of this package;
The provision of a registered office address for 12 months is also included in the price of this package (our registered office address service is charged annually);
The following documents, which need to be printed and signed, will be emailed to you upon formation of your company: -
A certificate of incorporation (requires PDF file reader);
The memorandum & articles of association (requires MS-Word file reader);
The first meeting of the board of directors (requires MS-Word file reader);
Share certificates and a company register (requires MS-Word file reader).
Premier Package
£ 207.00
Annual Maintenance Fee £175.00
This is another one very popular package for small and medium size businesses, such as those being run by a sole director from home, and for companies owned by overseas residents who still need a local registered office address but would rather not open local offices;
This package is often chosen by such customers, who are looking to minimise a sole director personal liability (and who are not quite familiar with the new UK corporate legislation), because this package includes a provision of a nominee secretary for 12 months. This package is also includes: -
The registration your company from scratch using one of our registered office addresses, and appoint your own candidates to the roles of director, and shareholder;
The standard capital on formation is £1.00, this is divided into 1.00 ordinary share valued at £1.00 (a minimum of one share must be issued);
The formation of a limited company usually takes as little as four to six hours from the time that your application and payment are received by Coddan;
The government fee for incorporation is included in the price of this package;
The provision of a registered office address for 12 months is included in the price of this package (our registered office address service is charged annually);
The provision of a nominee secretary for 12 months is also included in the price of this package (our nominee secretary service is charged annually);
The following hard bound copy of corporate documents, will be posted to you upon formation of your company: -
A laminated copy of the certificate of incorporation of your company;
A hard bound copy of the memorandum and articles of association;
A hard bound copy of the minutes of the first meeting of directors;
Share certificates, and your company register.
Deluxe Package
£ 557.00
Annual Maintenance Fee £525.00
The Deluxe limited company package is a fast and easy option, it is ideal for the UK, EU, and international small to medium businesses who wish to appoint a nominee director and a nominee secretary in order to maintain anonymity, and it includes: -
Incorporation of your company from scratch using one of our registered office addresses in London, our nominee director and nominee secretary. We can appoint your own candidate(s) to the role of shareholder(s), or you can appoint a nominee sharholder provided by Coddan;
The standard capital on formation is £1.00, this is divided into 1.00 ordinary share valued at £1.00 (a minimum of one share must be issued);
The formation of a limited company usually takes as little as four to six hours from the time that your application and payment are received by Coddan;
The government fee for incorporation is included in the price of this package;
The provision of a registered office address for 12 months is included in the price of this package (our registered office address service is charged annually);
The provision of a nominee secretary for 12 months is included in the price of this package (our nominee secretary service is charged annually);
The provision of a nominee director for 12 months is also included in the price of this package (our nominee director service is charged annually);
The following two hard bound copies of corporate documents, will be posted to you upon formation of your company: -
A laminated copy of the certificate of incorporation of your company;
A hard bound copy of the memorandum and articles of association;
A hard bound copy of the minutes of the first meeting of directors;
Share certificates, and your company register;
The general power of attorney signed by a nominee director;
Pre-signed, undated resignation letter from a nominee director;
The agreement for the provision of nominee service and indemnification of nominee.
Legal Requirements to Register an LTD
A private company limited by shares in England and Wales must have at least one director, one shareholder, and may have a secretary.
You need at least one person to form this type of company. If there is only one director, and that director is a natural person in your company, that director can also act as the secretary.
A company must have at least one director who is a natural person. This requirement is met if the office of director is held by a natural person as a corporation sole or otherwise by virtue of an office.
You can register a sole director' company, if you are familiar with the secretaries duties and responsibilities, because all of them belongs to a sole director.
The directors and secretary of your company can also be shareholders.
The Companies Act imposes no restriction on the minimum age of company directors. However Companies House will actively discourage the appointment of anyone under the age of 16 from taking up a company directorship on the grounds that the individuals concerned may not fully understand the legal liabilities that go with the position and for the most part will not have the experience necessary to perform the duties of a company director.
Under the Companies Act 2006, there is no restriction on any or all of the members/shareholders being from an overseas country (i.e. outside the United Kingdom in terms of residency, domicile, citizenship, place of incorporation or all or any of those concepts).
There is no requirement for the officers of your company to be UK citizens or residents, nor for them to hold valid work permits.
Owning, or being an officer of a UK company does not, however, grant you any right to live or work in the UK if you are a foreign national.
Your company must have a registered office address within England or Wales; this is the official address of your company and will be on the public record as such.
Your company must hold its official company documents at its registered office address: its register of shareholders, and its constitutional documents.
So long as you maintain a registered office address in England or Wales, you can conduct your business from any place in the world: you do not have to run your business from your registered office address.
An auditor is a person who makes an independent report to a company's members as to whether its financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 1985. The report must also say if a company's accounts give a true and fair view of its affairs. Most companies are required to have their accounts audited - see question 2 below.
MUST ALL COMPANY ACCOUNTS BE AUDITED?
No. If they qualify for exemption and wish to take advantage of it, dormant companies and certain small companies do not have to have their accounts audited. To qualify for audit exemption as a small company, the company must:
Important Links
Coddan is one of the foremost and most economical providers of limited companies formation and new business entity registration services in the UK. Coddan is a leading company set-up agent that has expertise in off the shelf companies, ready-made companies, own name company formation as well as company search, credit checking, company secretarial, accounting and bookkeeping, tax advice & charity registration. Simple cost effective limited company set-up. No paper forms to complete, all information provided electronically. Coddan offer a range of services for business, including business company set-up, virtual office services, mailing address, and company secretarial services.
Suggested Reading
Qualify as small. Have a turnover of not more than £1 million; and have a balance sheet total of not more than £ 1.4 million (For accounts covering a financial year that ended before 26 July 2000, the turnover must not be more than £350,000). For a charitable company to qualify for total audit exemption, it must qualify as small, its gross income must not be more than £90,000 and its balance sheet total must not be more than £1.4 million. Charities with a gross income between £90,000 and £250,000 and a balance sheet total of not more than £1.4 million qualify for partial exemption.
Dormant company audit exemption may be claimed by a limited company that has not traded during a financial year, unless it is a banking or insurance company or an authorised person under the Financial Services Act 1986. Dormant companies do not need to appoint auditors and can deliver very basic accounts to Companies House.
HOW IS A COMPANY AUDITOR APPOINTED?
The directors appoint the first auditor of the company. The auditor then holds office until the end of the first meeting of the company at which its accounts are laid before the members. At that meeting the members of the company can re-appoint the auditor, or appoint a different auditor, to hold office from the end of that meeting until the end of the next meeting at which accounts are laid.
However, private companies can pass an "elective resolution" not to lay accounts before the members in a general meeting. If this is done, then the auditor has to be re-appointed, or a new one appointed, at another meeting of the company's members that must be held within 28 days of the accounts being sent to the members.
Private companies can also pass an elective resolution dispensing with the need to appoint an auditor every year. If that happens, the auditor already appointed remains in office without further formality until a resolution is passed to re-introduce annual appointment or to remove him or her as auditor. For more information on resolutions, see the booklet "Resolutions".
WHAT DOES AN AUDITOR DO?
The auditor will check the accounts and accounting records of the company and prepare a report for the company's members. The report will say if the company's annual accounts have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Acts and if they give a true and fair view of the company's financial affairs. The auditor will also consider if the information given in the directors' report is consistent with the annual accounts. If in the auditor's opinion, the accounts or directors' report does not comply with the Companies Act, the auditor will say so in the report.
CAN MY ACCOUNTANT BE MY AUDITOR?
An auditor must be independent of the company, therefore, a person cannot be appointed as an auditor if they are: an officer or employee of the company or an associated company; a partner or employee of such a person, or a partnership of which such a person is a partner.
If your accountant does not fall into one of the above categories and if he or she has a current audit-practising certificate issued by a recognised supervisory body, they may act as the company's auditors.
NB: Not all members of a recognised supervisory body are eligible to act as an auditor but the appropriate body will be able to tell you whether a particular individual or firm has a current audit-practising certificate.
IS AN AUDITOR ONLY CONCERNED WITH ANNUAL ACCOUNTS?
Yes. However, there is nothing to stop you employing an auditor for other purposes, such as keeping the books or compiling the tax return, provided he [ or she ] does not take part in the management of the company. You should agree an engagement letter that sets out the auditor's duties. For instance, the company may want the auditor to prepare a management report after an audit, listing all the minor faults that were found even if they have been corrected.