UK Company Registration

The United Kingdom is the first industrialized country in the world and has a pivotal role in the development of economic globalization. After Brexit, the United Kingdom has attracted the attention of many foreign companies due to its favorable economic development environment. According to the UK tax law, it is a good choice for cross-border e-commerce sellers to set up an offshore company in the UK without paying tax and receiving and sending various foreign exchange.

There are many benefits for companies and businesses to register their companies in the UK:

1、Registration time is short, generally in 5 working days.

2、Little material is required, generally only the shareholders need to fill out the company’s registration application form, without any cumbersome application process.

3, registration flexibility, as long as your company is limited liability nature (the company name ends with Limited), in the case of not violating the UK company law can be registered including the ‘United Kingdom (UK)’ beginning, or contains ‘investment (Investment) ‘ and other ‘sensitive’ words. Also, there can be one or more shareholders of any nationality. In addition, the registered capital can be from £1 to £1 million, at the discretion of the shareholder.

4、The information is open and easy to check, generally within 24 hours after the registration is completed, you can check the registration information on the website of the British Trade and Industry Bureau (the British Trade and Industry Bureau provides free online enquiry service between 7:00 am and 12:00 pm UK time).

5、Freely control the inward and outward accounts of various foreign currencies without being restricted by the China Foreign Exchange Administration (CFEA). According to the regulations of the CFEA, Chinese citizens who open accounts in their own country are not allowed to receive remittances from foreign companies or enterprises directly. At the same time, companies or enterprises registered in China are only allowed to receive foreign remittances after obtaining approval from the Foreign Exchange Bureau, and trading companies registered in China are only allowed to receive remittances directly from abroad after obtaining import and export licenses. After registering your company in the UK, you can open an offshore account with your UK registered company in China with the information of your UK registered company and submit an annual audit report to your bank. Since you are registered as an offshore company, you are not subject to the restrictions of the Foreign Trade Office in the process of receiving and transferring remittances.

6, legal tax avoidance, if you do not intend to open an account in the United Kingdom, you do not need to consider any tax issues, because your company is no longer operating in the United Kingdom, and not registered in China. If you need to open an account in the UK, according to the relevant provisions of the UK company law, the UK government does not impose tax on companies with net profits of less than £60,000 per year, so as long as your book profits are within £60,000, you do not need to pay tax to the UK government.

7、Invest in the UK and EU in the name of a company. Take the UK real estate market as an example, in 2003-2004, housing prices increased by an average of 2-3% per month compared to the same period last year, and there are often various restrictions on investing in real estate in the UK as a Chinese citizen, but investing as a UK company can enjoy the same rights as all other UK companies.

According to the regulations of the UK Home Office, any foreign investors have the right to visit the UK regularly to inspect and evaluate their investments in the UK, which will simplify the tedious visa application process.

9, to build the company’s international image, from the global economy and capital operations, the United Kingdom is the second largest financial center after the United States, coupled with its important position in Europe and close economic relations with North America and the entire Commonwealth countries, the United Kingdom companies often have a better reputation in the world.

10. As an old capitalist country with a highly developed economic and legal system, the UK has a high degree of free trade. For example, from the macroeconomic point of view, the British government does not allow direct administrative intervention in the economy, which gives investors a great deal of freedom. In terms of general trade, the UK has a more liberal import and export policy than the US. Under normal circumstances, all goods entering the UK can be cleared within 24 hours, while in the US it often takes a week or even a month.

11. The opportunity to be listed on the FTSE, Hong Kong or the United States. As an old capitalist powerhouse and a pioneer of Western liberal economics, UK companies can be listed in any Western country under a completely fair and open audit system, while China’s market economy is still not recognized by most countries despite its rapid economic development after the reform and opening up, so it is relatively difficult for Chinese companies to list overseas.

As a member of the European Union, the UK plays a pivotal role in the European economic circle, and the close trade and political ties between the UK and the US enable investors within its borders to trade with the world’s largest and strongest economies in North America and Europe with fewer barriers. The UK’s close trade and political ties with the US allow investors in the country to reduce barriers to trade with the world’s two most powerful economies, North America and Europe.

Besides that, what is the best way to register a company in the UK?

1、Individual management system Sole Trade

The number of self-employed businesses in the UK has been increasing and has reached a record high, with low investment costs, diversified forms of organization, fewer restrictions and the right to make the highest decisions. If you want to control the power alone, registering this type of company is also more suitable.

The advantages are:

No registration fee;

Lower investment costs;

Diverse forms of organization and few restrictions on business development;

● Individual owners have the highest decision-making power to avoid disputes in decision making.

At the same time, the main drawbacks of this type of model are:

● Unlimited liability for the individual operator, i.e. the company’s losses need to be covered by personal property;

Individual operators are required to register with HMRC (the UK tax authority) for tax assessment and complete a tax return each year. As this model makes a direct link between the operator’s personal income and operating profits, it can result in high taxation. (Annual income over £42,385 is subject to a 40% tax rate; over £150,000 is subject to a 45% rate. In addition, if annual income is expected to exceed £82,000, the operator will need to register for VAT.)

This type of business is more suitable for service industries (photography, hairdressing, interior design, etc.) and business-related projects. In addition, self-employment is more suitable for recent UK students and small domestic investors.

2、Partnership

The partnership system is an older form of business organization, referring to a number of partners together to contribute to the operation of the enterprise, British law on the principles of corporate partnership, the nature, rights and obligations have clear provisions, the partnership system refers to unlimited liability, different from the limited liability, suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises.

With regard to the partnership system, it is important to note that a partnership agreement is established between the partners, i.e. it is clear that

● The amount of debt, shares and income distribution;

● The main duties of each person;

What happens when one of the partners quits the team?

This type of partnership is generally referred to as “unlimited liability”, with LLP (Limited Liability Partnership) being another form. The partnership form is suitable for most small and medium-sized businesses, regardless of the specific industry.

3、Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)

Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) is a relatively special partnership system recognized by the UK government, which is a combination of the traditional partnership system and the limited liability system with the flexibility of a business.

There are many advantages to registering a UK LLP: The LLP is a relatively special type of partnership recognized by the UK government, which is a combination of a traditional partnership and a limited liability system.

The main specificity of the system is that

At least two “designed members” are required to take on more responsibilities than regular members;

● Registration with Companies House in the form of LLP is required;

The liability of the partners of the company is limited to their agreed share of funds;

The tax burden is borne by each partner, not the firm itself, so each partner is required to register with HRMC.

In short, LLPs were originally created to cater to professional partnership types such as lawyers and accountants. Now other businesses, especially those providing financial services, may also adopt this type of system.

4、Private Limited Liability Company (Ltd.)

As the name suggests, a limited by shares company means that the shareholders of the company are liable for the company to the extent of their capital contributions.

UK policy requires that all limited liability companies need to be registered with Companies House (UK Companies Register), have at least one Director (director), at least one shareholder (there is no online requirement for the number of shareholders), a registered address, and an allocation of shares in the company. In addition, depending on the method of application for registration, companies are required to pay a registration fee of £15-£100.

It is also important to note that limited liability companies need to register with HMRC within 3 months of the establishment of the business to obtain the relevant corporation tax information.

The biggest advantage of this type of model is that the loss of the company will not affect the individual’s property because of the limited liability of the shareholders. In addition, the directors of the company have a relative advantage over the sole proprietor in terms of tax policy because their income is based on salary income.

For the more popular Tier 1 Entrepreneur visa, the Limited Liability Company is a good choice.

The UK has the world’s most robust legal system, a sound economic system and banking system, and is the first choice for businesses.

1. Company name: must end with “Limited”, such as: LIMITED, CO.,LTD, CO.,LIMITED, not “Trust Company”, “Bank” or other words considered to have similar meaning. It cannot end with “trust company”, “bank” or any other word considered to have a similar meaning, unless the company is licensed in the UK.

The UK government has few requirements for registered company names, generally its explicitly stated to avoid the use of

● The words Royal, King, Queen, Prince, etc.

● Words related to serious government, such as Government, British, Britain, etc.

Words related to social welfare organizations, such as Charity, Organisation, University, etc.

2, the registered capital: the registered capital shall not be less than £ 10,000, generally between £ 10,000 – 1 million, without the actual in place. If higher than 1 million pounds need to pay five thousandths of the centile fee.

3、Director/shareholder: must be at least 18 years old, at least one shareholder, shareholder and director can be the same person, can be a natural person or a legal entity, no nationality restrictions.

4、Registered address: The registered address must be in the United Kingdom.

5、Scope of business: You can operate any legal business, you can choose 3-4 business scope matching with your company when registering. Such as: finance and investment, health care, shipping and transportation, import and export trade, real estate, construction, decoration and design, information network, clothing and textile, tourism, cultural publishing, etc. If no business field is selected, the company is considered a Dormant Company by default.

▶Required Information

1, the UK company director / shareholder: one or more, can be any nationality of legal entities or natural persons directors can be the same person as shareholders.
 2, company secretary: the secretary must be a resident of the United Kingdom (we can provide, already included in the company registration services).
 3、UK address: the registered address must be in the UK (we can provide, already included in the company registration service).
 4、UK company name: must end with “Limited” and must not contain the words “Crown, Commonwealth, Bank, Commonwealth, Chamber of Commerce”, etc.
 5, registered capital: the standard registered capital is £ 10,000, divided into 10,000 shares, £ 1 per share. No actual capital verification is required;
 6、Director/shareholder information: Provide a copy of the ID card or passport of all directors and shareholders (16 years old or older) (if the shareholder is a corporate legal person, a copy of the corporate legal person business license is required).

 ▶ UK company registration process
 1、Check whether the company name can be registered to prevent the emergence of companies with the same name;
 2、Fill out the confirmation of company registration and provide identification documents of directors and shareholders and address proof documents;
 3. Formulate the registration plan and sign the agreement through Changjiajie;
 4、Integrate all the company registration information and submit to the registration office;
 5、Apply for the procedures related to the registration of the UK company, with staff following the process;
 6、Processing time of about 10-15 working days, to receive a full set of information.

 ▶UK company registration completion file
 1、Certificate of Incorporation
 2. Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company
 3、Search report
 4、Register of shareholders and directors
 5、Minutes of the first meeting
 6、Resolution on appointment of directors
 7、Stock certificate of the company
 8、Proof of director’s employment
 9、Registration Form IN01
 10、Secretary card
 11、Company seal (signature seal, small round table, steel seal)
 12、Company box