Register a Company in the United Kingdom

Registering a company in the United Kingdom means incorporating a legal entity with Companies House under the Companies Act 2006. The most common structure is a private company limited by shares (Ltd), which is used by businesses of all sizes from single-director consultancies to large corporate groups. The registration process requires choosing a company name, appointing at least one director (who must be a natural person aged 16 or older), providing a registered office address in England and Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland, defining the share structure, adopting articles of association, and providing a statement of compliance. Since 2016, UK companies must also maintain a register of People with Significant Control (PSC) — individuals who hold more than 25% of shares or voting rights, or who otherwise exercise significant influence or control over the company.

To register a private limited company (Ltd) with Companies House, you need: • A company name that is not identical or too similar to an existing registered name • At least one director who is a natural person aged 16 or older • A registered office address in the UK (this determines the jurisdiction — England & Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland) • At least one shareholder (who can also be the director) • Details of the share structure — number of shares, nominal value, and currency • Articles of association (model articles are available for standard companies) • A statement of initial significant control (PSC information) • SIC codes (Standard Industrial Classification) describing the company's business activities Unlike Australia, the UK does not require a company secretary for private limited companies, though one can be appointed voluntarily.

Companies House charges £50 for standard online registration (processed within 24 hours) or £30 for same-day incorporation through the digital filing service. Paper applications cost £71 and take 8–10 days. Your first entity on EntityFlo is free — no credit card, no lock-in. Paid plans scale with your portfolio: Foundation at $199/mo AUD (up to 25 entities), Control at $389/mo (26–50 entities), Corporate at $599/mo (51–100 entities), and Enterprise for groups managing 100+ entities with custom pricing. All plans cover entities across every supported jurisdiction with no per-jurisdiction surcharges. For corporate groups with UK subsidiaries — common for Australian-headquartered businesses with international operations — EntityFlo provides cross-jurisdictional governance visibility. UK-specific obligations like confirmation statements and PSC registers sit alongside ASIC annual reviews and NZ annual returns in the same compliance dashboard.

UK companies have several ongoing compliance obligations: • Confirmation statement: Filed annually with Companies House, confirming that company information on the public register is accurate. The filing deadline is 14 days after the review period ends, and the fee is £34. • PSC register: Companies must maintain and keep current their register of People with Significant Control. Changes must be notified to Companies House within 14 days. • Officer changes: Director appointments, resignations, and changes to personal details must be filed with Companies House. • Annual accounts: Companies must file annual accounts, with deadlines depending on whether the company is public or private (9 months after year-end for private companies). • Registered office changes: Any change to the registered office must be notified to Companies House. EntityFlo tracks all of these obligations automatically, surfacing upcoming deadlines, overdue items, and compliance issues in your dashboard. The platform applies UK-specific rules and terminology — "confirmation statement" rather than "annual review," "Companies House number" rather than "ACN" — so the experience is jurisdictionally appropriate.

For governance teams managing a corporate group that spans multiple jurisdictions, the UK presents specific complexities. Companies House has its own filing requirements, its own terminology, and its own deadlines — all different from ASIC, the NZ Companies Office, or the CRO in Ireland. EntityFlo normalises these differences. UK entities appear alongside Australian, New Zealand, Irish, US, and Canadian entities in the same entity register. Ownership chains that cross jurisdictional boundaries are mapped in the structure chart. Directors who serve on boards in multiple countries have all their obligations tracked in one place. The platform automatically applies the correct compliance rules for each jurisdiction. A UK entity tracks confirmation statements and PSC obligations; an Australian entity tracks ASIC annual reviews and Form 484s. But the governance team sees everything in one dashboard, with one compliance score, and one set of alerts.