UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Paolo Palmigiano, Rachael Roberts, Helen Farr, Debbie Heywood and Louise Popple, Taylor Wessing LLP
typically processed within 24 hours, while postal applications may take 8–10 days. The informa - tion required for each is as follows. • Limited companies: (a) name – an appropriate company name that conforms with Companies House regulations must be chosen; (b) documentation – the necessary docu - ments, including the Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association, must be prepared; (c) forms – Form IN01, with details such as registered office, director(s), secretary (if any), shareholder(s) and share capital, must be completed; and (d) registration – once the application has been processed by Companies House, a Certificate of Incorporation will be re - ceived confirming the legal existence of the private limited company. • PLCs: (a) name – an appropriate company name that conforms with Companies House regulations must be chosen; (b) documentation – the necessary docu - ments, including the Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association, must be prepared; (c) forms – Form IN01, with details such as registered office, directors (at least two), secretary, shareholder(s), and share capi - tal, must be completed; (d) minimum share capital – it must be ensured that there is a minimum allotted share capital of GBP50,000 with at least 25% paid upon incorporation; (e) registration – once the application has been processed by Companies House, a Certificate of Incorporation will be re - ceived confirming the legal existence of the PLC;
(f) trading certificate – before starting busi - ness or borrowing money, a trading cer - tificate must be obtained from Companies House by demonstrating that the PLC has met the minimum share capital require - ments, which can take several weeks after registration; (g) prospectus publication – if shares are being offered to the public, a prospectus that complies with the Prospectus Rules must be published and should provide detailed information about the company and its securities offering; this can be time-consuming, as it involves careful preparation and review by legal advisors and financial regulators; and (h) listing – if the PLC is to be listed on a stock exchange, various requirements will need to be met, and there are ongoing rules and obligations; timing for this step can vary depending on market conditions and the PLC’s readiness to list. • LLPs: (a) name – an appropriate LLP name that conforms with Companies House regula - tions must be chosen; (b) designated members – at least two mem - bers must be chosen to be designated members, who are responsible for statu - tory compliance duties; (c) documentation – an LLP agreement is optional but recommended; (d) forms – Form LL IN01, with details such as the registered office and information about its members; and (e) registration – once the application has been processed by Companies House, a Certificate of Incorporation will be issued confirming the legal existence of the LLP.
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