Business account for a bankrupt

Richard_S

Rohina wrote: »

Hi Richard

Mmm... the equity option is one to think about carefully for us. Have you any experience with Onelondon or anyone similar?

Hi Rohina,

No eperience with them.

We used a venture cpaital company as they were called in the 1980's but they've been taken over and the nature of their business has changed. During the same period we were in negotiations with a foreign company who were interested in purchasing a stake in our company but we thought the price they were offering was too low.

We had a very fruitful relationship with a private equity investor in the 1990's and that worked like a dream. If I could identify one single thing we got wrong in the last ten years, it would be that we bought his stake in the business by borrowing money.

I'm not certain whether the scheme is still in operation but there used to be a register of wealthy individuals, by geographic area, who were prepared to look at business plans and propositions with a view to investing in them. I'll have a look around whe I get chance and post any info I find.

Richard

rog2

The 'Limited Company' will, in law, be an entity in its own right, and you can apply for business banking accounts in the name of the limited company.
That, at least, is the theory - in practice, and from personal experience, banks will expect personal guaranteees from directors/shareholders.
There are, however, solutions;
If one of the directors has a good credit rating, he could start the company in his name and apply for, and get, a business bank account. At a later date he can add you/partner as signatories and amend the articles of the company to include you as shareholders/directors.
Another possibility, of which I have had no personal experience, is in the way in which you register the company, initially. Obviously the cheapest way is to register directly, on-line, with Companies House. This is relatively simple, although some of the forms can be a bit daunting, so some people prefer to 'purchase' a ready made company - usually costing between £75 and £1000, depending on which option you prefer. Some of the options, and I admit, usually the most expensive, include a guaranteed bank account.
I 'purchased' my company, in 1982, through a company advertising in Yellow Pages, and it cost me £125.00. Nowadays, you just need to 'Google' Company Formations and you will, instantly get thousands of options.
Choose wisely, and check out the broker/company with whom you decide to progress.

Rohina

Hi Rog2

Thanks for that informative reply.

My business partner and I have already incorporated the company otherwise the option of adding me on after would have been ideal. Wish I had posted on here before!

We made the formation ourselves and it was relatively easy as long as you dont need to change Table A in the articles/memo. It was £5 for a solicitor for the Oath and £20 for registration.

Unfortunately, neither of us have any assets or anything to base a personal guarantee on for a business account. I am hoping that the co-operative bank will take pity on us!!

rog2

Rohina wrote: »

Hi Rog2

We made the formation ourselves and it was relatively easy as long as you dont need to change Table A in the articles/memo. It was £5 for a solicitor for the Oath and £20 for registration.

Unfortunately, neither of us have any assets or anything to base a personal guarantee on for a business account. I am hoping that the co-operative bank will take pity on us!!

For £25.00, I would be tempted to leave the already formed Company as 'Dormant' and get your business partner to register another company. You never know when the 'dormant' company may come in handy.

Banks, unfortunately, are not well known for 'taking pity' on customers.

Conor_3

I got a business account with Barclays with no trouble as a Sole Trader discharged for 2 years. I do bank with them and have done since before my bankruptcy (had no debts with them so still kept the account) so that might have helped.

fermi

Conor wrote: »

I got a business account with Barclays with no trouble as a Sole Trader discharged for 2 years. I do bank with them and have done since before my bankruptcy (had no debts with them so still kept the account) so that might have helped.

That is very good to know. All the info I've seen on this has been negative, so this is great news.

Cute_'n'_Quirky

The online company formation packages, including bank accounts are brilliantly priced but, again, the bank account is "subject to status".

Provided that there was no debt with a paricular bank applied to and probably best not to have any overdraft facility, I cannot see how the bank is taking a risk. It would be in the bank's interest to encourage business.

hitch_2

I can remember coming across this, did not use them though, I decided not to go limited, if you do use them I would be interested to know which bank it is, my guess its something like Abbey National Business Deposit account or similar
http://www.cscompanyservices.co.uk/company.asp?CompanyID=458

Cute_'n'_Quirky

A lot of the online company formations use NatWest

If you do a Google you will find bank accounts that can be bought - whether they are any good or not is another matter.

Perhaps someone here has tried that?