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.

• 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.