【4 mins Read】OneStart Weekly - England Company Incorporation

Company formation (Global) – England

We have waved goodbyes to our friends and relatives in front of the boarding gate at the airport. Policies of different countries have sought to find talents from Hong Kong, and our friends joined them. The United Kingdom is one of the most popular migration choices now, and among all, England has been the hottest candidate.

With more HongKongers moving into this magical land that sounds so close yet so far to us, it might be a golden opportunity that you should not miss to establish your company and business there! You might find it easier than ever to find talents who will know your language and your culture, to help your company thrive.

However brave you are, investment migration might not be one of your choices. But still, you might be intrigued by the idea of staring your business in England, to plant the seedlings of a new Hong Kong international brand in the heart of Europe. This is when company formation services from registered offices like OneStart Business Centre could help you achieve your dream. Without the need to cross the border, you can incorporate a company in England, while sitting in the couch at our Lobby, sipping you glass of cappuccino.

The company formation process, and the company types for incorporation in England are quite similar with Hong Kong. According to the Companies House – the registration authority in England, the most common type of company chosen by investors to incorporate, is limited company. The limited companies could be either limited by shares or be limited by guarantee. For further information on company types, you can always trace back to our previous blogs and series, or call our consultants at OneStart Business Centre to know more about all the information you will need.

Remember we talked about people with significant control before? In England, setting up a limited company also request you to identify the people with significant control (PSC) over your limited company in the process of company formation. There will be a set of different documents you need to prepare, but no need to worry, OneStart Business Centre could provide the help you will need, and help you with:

Registration and file saving before and after registration;
Preparation of company establishment documents and registration forms;
Customizing a corporate kit, including a metal corporate seal, stock certificate, register of shareholder, register of director, and stock transfer ledger etc.;
Payment of registration filing fee to Companies House
Provision of a business address in London or Manchester for one year;
Receiving government letters, scanning and emailing them regularly (once a month) to the email address designated by the customer;
Company secretary service for one year (notify the client’s statutory reporting responsibilities regularly, excluding handling the company’s various changes and statutory declarations);
Preparation of the company's memorandum and articles of association;
Preparation of the first written resolution of the board of directors;
UK value-added tax is included.

The whole registration process will usually take around 2 to 3 working days to progress, that is to say the time taken for applying the registration of the VAT number is not included. There might be a possible extension by the British Companies Registry, when the authority is reviewing the registration according to the company’s operating projects and the shareholder status. Therefore, to facilitate a smoother company formation process, your limited company to be incorporated, should fulfill the below minimum requirements:

Consists of at least one shareholder and one director;
The shareholder can be a corporate body or a natural person. There are no restrictions on the nationality of shareholders;
Natural person shareholders can serve as directors. There are no restrictions on the nationality of directors;
The company must have a business (registered) address in the UK;
There is no limit on the number of registered share capital and issued share capital. Generally, the registered capital of a British company is £100.

As required by the Companies House, the filed limited company of yours will need to register an official address and choose a SIC code to identify the type of business your limited company will do. You can also register for Corporation Tax at the same time when your register for company formation. Apart from helping you on your way of company formation, OneStart Business Centre also could help you with simple steps to guide you through taxation in England. These are also extra services we are willing to go further to help, upon request and payment:

Take the position as tax representative (every year)
VAT tax-payer registration
Mail forwarding (annual), plus extra postage charge
Remote registration of local business bank account
Certification or notarization of company registration documents

Taxation need not to be rushed, but it is always to be better prepared than caught in shock. The most important first step is to first prepare all the necessary documents, and phone in to see how OneStart Business Centre could help you with company formation in England. Stepping into the foreign land might sounds to bold, but trust our professional experienced specialists, and you can dream however big you want, with your home support from Hong Kong.

Interested in OneStart Business Centre’s Company Formation Services? Phone in to our hotline 3575 6888 or WhatsApp our helpful consultants!