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Business registration and support in Great Britain
Opening a business and accounts Registration of LLC in Great Britain

Mykola Sirenko

Lawyer

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sirenko@prikhodko.com.ua

Phone numbers

Expert in corporate and international corporate law. Has extensive experience in supporting the acquisition of financial licenses in Ukraine, as well as business incorporation in the EU, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the UAE, and key Asian jurisdictions.

Registration of LLC in Great Britain

What is interesting about Great Britain for registering an LLC (Ltd)?

Many mistakenly believe that Great Britain is an offshore zone. Given enough high tax rates are not.

Conducting business in Great Britain first of all provides the possibility of access to the European and other international markets.

Ltd. in Great Britain called LTD. Such a company has resident status in this country, while it does not contain restrictions concerning directions activities (although for some species activities must receive necessary permits).

Except for this, Great Britain has advantages that can be very attractive to those who wish to start their business by registering an LLC, namely:

the director does not necessarily have to have citizenship in Britain (but we still recommend having exactly local director, as there is a risk non-discovery account in a local bank);
secretary can be purely nominal, appointed personally by the director or a shareholder;
responsibility owners spread only within the limits of a personal deposit (from 1 pound);
with the tax service, you can communicate with help electronic connection
missing annual audit if income during the year is less than 6.5 million pounds;
accessibility lending;
software preservation guarantees

At the same time, there are certain features which necessary to take into account before registering an LLC in order not to have problems:

the founder must be at least 16 years old;
the founder must submit at least 3 options name of the LLC with a mandatory indication of organizational and legal forms in the title;
has submitted full information about the directors;
sometimes may stand restrictions on ownership shares UK residents only;
the legal address must be in the United States or the Kingdom.

For those who are thinking about registering an LLC in Great Britain, we remind you that corporate tax is 19 %; input tax value (VAT) is 20%, but the rate may be reduced for some goods and services – by 5%.

If your LLC has employee’s employees, you should hold payroll tax and national insurance contributions from wages and submit them to the Tax and Customs Administration meetings (HM Revenue & Customs). Statutory capital – from 1 pound.

Usually, process registration Limited company responsibility in the UK includes the following steps:

Step 1. Selection names company: name The name must be unique and follow the naming rules.
Step 2. Selection of legal addresses.
Step 3. Appointment directors and company secretary: there is a requirement of a minimum of one director. For a Secretary of the company, it is not necessary to appoint a, but this practice is common.
Step 4. Definition of shareholders and authorized capital.
Step 5. Creation of founding agreement and statute.
Step 6. Register online or paper registration: more and more often companies register online at Companies House.
Step 7. Submission of an application for registration: must be attached to the application necessary documents, in particular those that certify the identity of directors and shareholders, and proof of payment registration collection.
Step 8. Receiving registration certificates.
Step 9. Tax registration: after registering companies, you should submit an application to the tax office accounting.
Step 10. VAT registration: this step not everyone needs it, but if the annual turnover of the company is £ 85,000 sterling, required to register a VAT payer.
Step 11. Opening a corporate bank account.

Registration terms

Because of the common practice of submitting documents remotely in an electronic way in the form of a process LLC registration has sped up and is currently between 4 and 24 hours, depending on a set of documents. If to serve domains in paper form, then the process will take several days.

Many may assure you that by registering an LLC in Great Britain you can do it yourself. Yes, independently, you can, but this complex process often is accompanied by refusal due to a lack of documents or wrong filling out the application. In particular, it is not worth Brexit, as a result, which changed some rules of trade and business in general, somewhat making difficult these processes.

In order to avoid problems, we advise apply for professional consultation with our lawyer to make sure that you perform all requirements are correct.

Calculate the cost of services

1 question

Do you need UK tax advice?

Yes

2 question

Do you need help opening a bank account for a new company?

Yes

3 question

Do you urgently need help in opening a company?

Yes

How long does company registration take?

A standard electronic application to Companies House is usually processed within 24 hours. However, preparation of the structure, identity verification, obtaining an address, tax setup and account opening require additional time.

Who needs to complete identity verification?

Directors and persons with significant control — PSCs — must complete verification. Once completed, the individual receives a Companies House personal code used to confirm the relevant corporate role. Non-residents may also complete verification, including by using a biometric passport.

Where is the best place to open an account for a UK company with a non-resident director?

Since traditional UK High-Street Banks require a physical business presence, the fastest and most efficient solution for international companies is to open accounts with electronic money institutions (EMIs). Platforms such as Wise Business, Revolut Business and Payoneer are licensed by the FCA and provide full UK and international account details for transactions.

When must a company register for VAT?

The general threshold is £90,000 of taxable turnover over the previous consecutive 12 months or expected turnover during the next 30 days. Separate rules may apply to non-resident and cross-border models, so VAT should be analysed before sales begin.

Is a company required to file reports if it has not traded?

Yes, it is mandatory. Even companies with no operating activity must annually file so-called “Dormant Accounts” with Companies House and confirm the ownership structure through a Confirmation Statement. Failure to file these documents results in substantial penalties (from £150 to £1,500) and compulsory dissolution of the company, with its assets passing to the Crown.

Successful cases on the topic: