We are about to go through UK company formation for the first time and wanted to actually understand the process properly before just clicking through Companies House without knowing what each step means. Here is what I have pieced together so far, would appreciate anyone correcting me or adding context.
Choosing a company structure comes first, most early stage founders go with a private limited company since it offers limited liability and is the structure most investors expect to see later during fundraising. Choosing a company name is next, which needs to be unique and not too similar to an existing registered company, and cannot include certain restricted words without special permission.
Registering itself requires a registered office address, at least one director, details of shareholders and their share allocations, and a statement of capital showing how many shares are being issued and at what value. There is also a memorandum and articles of association required, most founders use the standard model articles rather than drafting bespoke ones at this very early stage. Registering for corporation tax with HMRC usually needs to happen separately shortly after incorporation, since Companies House registration and HMRC tax registration are not automatically linked.
What I am still trying to understand is how much thought should go into the initial share structure and shareholder agreements at the point of formation versus treating it as a formality that can be revisited once there are co-founders or investors involved.
Has anyone here actually gone through UK company formation recently? Curious what surprised you, what you wish you had understood before starting, and anything that turned out to matter more than expected.
Found a fairly clear explanation of this on Entrepreneur Plus while I was reading around the topic, helped me understand the founder side of it a bit better.
