Company Formation and UK Business Set-up

Choosing the right structure

Most clients form a private company limited by shares, but the right answer depends on who owns the business, where the founders live and pay tax, whether outside investors are expected, and whether the company will need a sponsor licence. We advise on:

• Private limited company vs branch or UK establishment of an overseas company, and the reporting each involves.
• Shareholdings and share classes for founders, investors and future employees, including growth shares and option pools.
• Directors and the person with significant control (PSC) register, and the identity verification that Companies House now requires of every director and PSC.
• Registered office and service addresses, which must be a real UK address where documents will be received.
• Articles of association tailored to your ownership rather than the default model articles, and a shareholders' agreement where there is more than one owner.

The set-up we deliver

1. Structure and plan

   A short written plan covering the entity, ownership, directors, registered office, VAT and PAYE registrations, and any immigration route that needs to run alongside.

2. Incorporation and registers

   Companies House filing, bespoke articles, statutory registers, share certificates, first board minutes and PSC filings, with director identity verification completed correctly.

3. Founder and investor documents

   Shareholders' agreement, founder vesting, IP assignment from founders to the company and, where relevant, investment documents.

4. Trading essentials

   Bank account support (including the KYC pack banks ask overseas directors for), terms of business, privacy notice, employment contracts and a sponsor licence application if you intend to hire from abroad.

For overseas founders and companies

A UK company can have overseas directors and shareholders, and no UK resident director is required. In practice, banks and the Home Office look for a genuine UK presence: a real office or registered address, UK bank account, UK-based management and evidence of trading. We help overseas clients meet these expectations and coordinate the immigration side, whether that is a UK Expansion Worker visa for a senior manager, an Innovator Founder visa for a founder, or a sponsor licence so the company can employ its own team.

We also advise on the practical questions clients ask in the first month: Companies House and HMRC deadlines, the confirmation statement, accounts and corporation tax, registering for VAT, and the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act requirements that now apply to all companies.

Fees and costs

Companies House fees checked September 2026. Accountancy and tax advice is arranged through our referral network where required.

Small businesses and UK immigration

Watch

Small businesses and UK immigration

Can a small company sponsor overseas staff? The short answer.

More on this topic:

• UK grants for scale-ups

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Frequently asked questions