UNITED KINGDOM
UK Company Incorporation
A UK private limited company is one of the fastest and most credible corporate vehicles in the world to set up — and you do not need to live in Britain to own or run one. What has changed is the entry check: since November 2025 every director and person with significant control must verify their identity with Companies House before the company can be registered. We handle that alongside the incorporation itself.
24 hrs
Typical Companies House turnaround once identity checks are done
£100
Companies House online incorporation fee
No residency
Directors and shareholders can live anywhere
19–25%
Corporation tax, depending on profit level
WHY THE UK
Advantages of a UK Limited Company
The UK is not the cheapest place to incorporate, and since 2023 it is no longer the low-tax option it used to be. What it still offers is credibility, speed, and a legal system counterparties everywhere already trust.
Genuinely Fast to Register
A straightforward online incorporation is usually processed within 24 hours once identity verification is complete. There is no minimum capital and no notary appointment.
No Residency Requirement
Directors and shareholders can live anywhere in the world. Shareholders may also be corporate entities, so an existing group company can hold the shares directly.
Real Limited Liability
Shareholders are protected if the business fails, and an approved company name is protected on the register so no one else can take it.
A Legal System Others Trust
English law and English courts are the default choice for international contracts. A UK entity often removes friction with suppliers, platforms and investors who would hesitate elsewhere.
Real Innovation Reliefs
R&D tax relief and the Patent Box remain available to qualifying companies, and can materially reduce the effective rate for genuine technology and product businesses.
Access and Talent
A large domestic consumer market, retained trade arrangements with the EU and beyond, deep professional services, and a graduate pool in finance, technology and engineering.
STRUCTURES
UK Business Structures
Nearly every incoming founder ends up with a private company limited by shares. The alternatives exist for particular purposes — here is when each one is actually the right answer.
Private Company Limited by Shares
The default, and what “Ltd” means. One person can be the sole director and sole shareholder. Liability is limited to the value of the shares, and there is no minimum capital — a company can be formed with a single £1 share.
Public Limited Company (PLC)
For raising capital from the public or listing. Requires at least two directors, a company secretary, and issued share capital of at least £50,000 with a quarter paid up. Rarely the right starting point.
Company Limited by Guarantee
No shares and no distributable profit. Members guarantee a nominal amount. The usual form for charities, clubs, trade bodies and membership organisations.
Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
Members are taxed individually rather than the entity paying corporation tax, but liability is still limited. Common for professional practices; needs at least two members.
Community Interest Company (CIC)
A limited company with an asset lock and a community purpose, regulated by the CIC Regulator. For social enterprises that want to trade rather than rely on grants.
UK Establishment of an Overseas Company
Not a separate legal entity — a registered branch of your existing foreign company. Useful when the parent must remain the contracting party, though it exposes the parent to UK obligations.
THE PROCESS
How to Register a Company in the UK
Incorporation itself is quick. What sets the timetable now is identity verification, which has to be finished before the filing can go in. This is the sequence we run for you.
01
Structure, Name and SIC Codes
We settle the entity type, check your proposed name against the register and the naming rules — no implied government or royal connection, no protected words — and pick the SIC codes that describe what you will actually do.
02
Identity Verification
Every director and person with significant control verifies their identity, either through the free GOV.UK One Login route or via an authorised corporate service provider. Each person receives a personal code that links them to their Companies House roles.
03
Registered Office and Email
You need an appropriate UK registered office — a real address where post can be acknowledged, not a PO box — and a registered email address. We can provide both.
04
Incorporation Filing
Form IN01 with directors, shareholders, PSC details, share capital and articles, plus the statement of lawful purpose. Filed online with Companies House; the certificate of incorporation usually follows within 24 hours.
05
HMRC Registrations
Corporation tax registration within three months of starting to trade, VAT registration if you are over or approaching the threshold, and PAYE if you will run a payroll.
06
Banking and Going Live
We prepare the pack UK banks and regulated fintechs actually ask for — incorporation documents, PSC and UBO detail, proof of address, business plan, expected transaction profile — and support the application through onboarding.
OUR SERVICE
Our UK Company Formation Services
We collect the documents, advise on the structure before anything is filed, and stay with the company through its first filing cycle — not just to the certificate.
Structure and Name Advice
We look at ownership, tax residence, where you will actually trade and who you will invoice, then recommend the entity — and tell you when a UK company is not the right answer.
Identity Verification Support
We guide every director and PSC through Companies House verification and can act as your route to it, so the requirement does not stall your incorporation.
Incorporation Filing
IN01 preparation, articles of association, share structure, PSC statements and the filing itself — with the certificate of incorporation delivered to you.
Registered Office and Mail
An appropriate UK registered office address that meets the current rules, a registered email address, and forwarding of statutory mail wherever you are.
Tax Registration and Accounting
Corporation tax, VAT and PAYE registration, then bookkeeping, statutory accounts and the confirmation statement kept to their deadlines.
Business Banking Support
Introductions to UK banks and regulated fintechs that actually onboard non-resident directors, with the compliance pack prepared before you apply.
TAX AND FILING
Tax, Filing and What You Actually Owe
A UK company is cheap to form and not especially cheap to run. These are the four obligations that decide your real annual cost.
Corporation Tax — 19% to 25%
The single 19% rate ended in April 2023. The main rate is now 25% on profits above £250,000. The small profits rate of 19% applies below £50,000, and marginal relief tapers the rate between the two.
Both thresholds are divided by the number of associated companies, so a group of small companies does not each get the full allowance. R&D relief and the Patent Box can reduce the effective rate for qualifying work.
VAT — 20%
The standard rate is 20%. Registration becomes mandatory once taxable turnover passes £90,000 in any rolling twelve months, or when you expect to pass it within the next 30 days.
You can register voluntarily below that, which is often worth doing if your customers are VAT-registered businesses. Returns are usually quarterly and filed under Making Tax Digital.
Payroll — PAYE and Employer NI
If the company pays anyone a salary, including a director, it needs a PAYE scheme and must report through Real Time Information on or before each payday.
Employer National Insurance is charged at 15% on earnings above the secondary threshold of £5,000 a year. Most businesses can offset up to £10,500 of that through Employment Allowance. Auto-enrolment pension duties apply once you have eligible staff.
Annual Filings — Two Separate Deadlines
Companies House: a confirmation statement at least once every twelve months (£50 online) and annual accounts, normally due nine months after your accounting reference date.
HMRC: a company tax return twelve months after the period end, with the tax itself payable at nine months and one day. Missing the accounts deadline triggers automatic penalties, and persistent failure can lead to the company being struck off.
NON-RESIDENT SETUP
Forming a UK Company From Abroad
You do not need to be in the UK, hold a visa, or have a UK bank account to own a British company. But there are four things you cannot avoid, and it is better to know them before you file than after.
What You Can Do From Anywhere
Own and control the company. There is no nationality or residency test for directors or shareholders, and a foreign company can hold the shares.
Incorporate remotely. The whole filing is online. You do not need to travel, and there is no notary or apostille step for a standard UK incorporation.
Start with almost no capital. A company can be formed with a single £1 share. There is no paid-up capital requirement to satisfy before registration.
What You Still Need
Verified identity. Every director and PSC must complete Companies House identity verification. This applies wherever you live.
A UK registered office. It must be an appropriate address capable of acknowledging delivery — a PO box is no longer acceptable — plus a registered email address.
A banking plan. High-street banks are cautious about non-resident directors; regulated fintechs are usually the realistic route, and both want a coherent business story before they onboard you.
UK filing discipline. Accounts, confirmation statement and tax returns fall due whether or not the company traded.
The rule that changed everything: identity verification
Almost every UK formation guide still describes a world where you could register a company with nothing more than a name and an address. That ended on 18 November 2025, when identity verification became mandatory under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.
New appointments: anyone becoming a director or registering as a PSC must give a verified identity number as part of the appointment. Existing directors: supply theirs with the company’s next confirmation statement. Existing PSCs who are not directors have until the first fourteen days of their birth month.
Verification is done once, through GOV.UK One Login or an authorised corporate service provider, and produces a personal code that follows you across every company. Companies House also stopped requiring companies to keep their own registers of directors, secretaries and PSCs on the same date — the central register is now the record.
START YOUR UK COMPANY
Register Your UK Company
Tell us what the company will do and who will own it. We will confirm the right structure, walk your directors through identity verification, and give you a written quote with the Companies House fee and our fee shown separately — before you commit to anything.
