Limited Company - Name / Details Posted Outside House?

saubryn

I'm thinking of changing my company from partnership to a limited company - mostly to make dealing with certain foreign places that don't understand UK partnership stuff easier - they seem to think Limited Company = instant legitimacy.

According to companies house:

Every company must paint or affix its name on the outside of every office or place in which its business is carried on - even if it is a director's home. The name must be kept painted or affixed and it must be both conspicuous and legible.

They can't be serious? I live in a block of flats - would I really have to stick up my details on my door? That just seems crazy.... and pointless, since we have a security door which means people can't gain access without buzzing up first?

Any comments / advice appreciated!

gbmacqueen

that sounds strange to me also. Are you sure its ltd and not a plc ?

Pennywise

That's correct I'm afraid - it's what the law says. Now whether any action would ever be taken for not doing it is another matter.

Debt_Free_Chick

saubryn wrote:

They can't be serious? I live in a block of flats - would I really have to stick up my details on my door? That just seems crazy.... and pointless, since we have a security door which means people can't gain access without buzzing up first?

Any comments / advice appreciated!

It's true for limited companies. For this reason, many small companies use a "Secretarial" service provided by their accountants. The accountant carries out the role of the Company Secretary and the accountant's office is the registered address.

Do you actually conduct business from your home? I doubt it, unless you have customers visiting your home as if it were your office. Working from home is not the same as conducting business from home.

saubryn

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

Do you actually conduct business from your home? I doubt it, unless you have customers visiting your home as if it were your office. Working from home is not the same as conducting business from home.

Thanks all of you for your advice.

If 'conducting business' means having customers visit, then no, I don't - its just the address given for deliveries, and then everything else is dealt with either by me visiting customers, or by email.

Does that mean I'm exempt?

Thanks again.

Savvy_Sue

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

It's true for limited companies. For this reason, many small companies use a "Secretarial" service provided by their accountants. The accountant carries out the role of the Company Secretary and the accountant's office is the registered address.

We do this, but I am quite sure that even the accountants don't have a list of all the companies for which they provide services outside their offices!

But what the OP seems to say is that it's not enough to have it on the Registered Office, but must also be done on every place of business. Wwhich surely means that we should have it on our 'proper' office as well ...

Pacific_State

This may be the law, but in all my time (8 years in business), I have never heard of it being enforced.

You should be alright.