So, you’ve decided that your passion has become more than just a passion, and that you now need to take your big idea to the next level. You want to start up a UK limited company. In this article, we will cover what you need to do, and how to find the information you need.
Go it Alone or Get Support?
The decision is yours. If you have experience in business, you may be comfortable going to Companies House, downloading the forms and completing the process yourself. If not (like most) then you will need some more help and guidance. There are plenty of companies that offer just companies formation and provide guidance through the whole process.
How to Choose Your Company Name
First of all, you will need to choose your name. Be creative and choose a name that both represents your company and will be simple enough for people to remember. For example if you arrange corporate events (and only corporate events) then “Avenue Corporate Events” would be a very suitable name, where as if you are a general events (weddings, parties and corporate events etc) provider then “Avenue Events” might be a more suitable title
How to Check Your Company Name
Ok, so you’ve chosen “Avenue Events” as your name. You now need to check that no-one else currently trades under it, does not contain any sensitive words or names, (http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/about/gbhtml/gbf2.shtml#appa) and that it is free for you to register. Companies House (http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk and a number of other sites) have a free service that you can use to check this.
OK – it seems that “Avenue Events” is already taken. Good thing we checked! After a few more searches, we find that “Ardent Events” is not taken, so let’s register that name.
How to Register Your Company
As you are setting up a limited company, you will need to create some shares. As (we presume) you currently don’t have any shares, you will own them all. Set up