To form your company, there are certain items of information required by Companies House.

• The proposed company name. You should check the Companies House website to make sure that the name is not already being used. Also see above about domain names
• The names and personal details of all your shareholders
• The number of shares to be issued to each shareholder. For companies of this size it is convenient to issue a total 100 shares each of £1. Ownership of shares not only indicates ownership of the company but the share capital also provides initial working capital for the company. The money should be paid by the shareholders into the company bank account
• The names and personal details of all your directors
• The address of your registered office
• The name and contact details of your Company Secretary

Your company is required to have a minimum of only one shareholder and one director, but you may wish for your spouse or partner to be involved. If you plan to split the share ownership with your spouse or partner, you need to understand how HMRC might look upon this and also how it would affect your tax position if you pay dividends (see the section on dividends and income shifting). We therefore recommend that you talk with us before making any decisions about this.

All company directors are required to complete a personal self-assessment tax return at the end of each financial year regardless of their level of income, so you should be aware of this.

We act as Company Secretary and registered office for all our clients, which helps us to create robust compliance arrangements. For example, the address of your registered office determines your HMRC office for Corporation Tax purposes, and there are significant advantages to be had from using the same tax office for all our clients.

We gather the necessary information from you via the online company formation form on our website.