UK and Irish company types compared
Three questions settle the choice: how much capital you want tied up, whether the company will offer shares to the public, and whether you need to trade inside the EU.
The last one is newer than the other two and catches people out. Since Brexit an English company no longer enjoys freedom of establishment in the European Union; an Irish one still does. If your customers are in Dublin, Frankfurt or Vienna, that decides it before capital does.
This page sets the forms side by side, with the capital each one needs and what we charge to form it.
- UK company with registered office from EUR 580 net
- Irish company with registered office from EUR 690 net
- Fixed prices, registrar's fee included
- Registered office and filings available
All amounts on this page are net prices in euro. We do not quote in pounds: there is no rate behind it, and a converted figure would be wrong by tomorrow. The full list is on prices.
The forms side by side
The diagram groups the forms by kind. The table below sets them side by side with capital, liability and our fee.
| Share capital | From | What it is for | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Ltd | GBP 1,000 no statutory minimum |
180.00 | The ordinary private company. Liability limited to the amount unpaid on the shares, no minimum capital, shares not offered to the public. The right answer for most trading businesses based in the UK. |
| UK PLC | GBP 50,000 a quarter paid up |
180.00 | The only form that may offer shares to the public. Same packages and prices as the Ltd from us; what differs is the capital and the filing obligations that come with it. |
| LLP | none no shares at all |
180.00 | A partnership whose members have limited liability. Profits are taxed in the members' hands rather than the partnership's. Common among professional firms. |
| Ireland Ltd | EUR 1,000 no statutory minimum |
260.00 | The same shape as the UK Ltd, in an EU member state. Worth the difference the moment you need to trade inside the Union. |
| Ireland PLC | EUR 25,000 a quarter paid up |
260.00 | The Irish public company. A lower capital threshold than its English counterpart, and inside the single market. |
The figures in the last column are our fee for forming the company, net, with the registrar's fee included. The share capital is not a cost: it is your own money in your own company.
If you need to trade inside the EU
This is the section to read first if any part of your business points at the continent. It is also the part that has changed, and a good deal of what is written about it online predates that change.
Within the European Union there is freedom of establishment: a company validly formed in one member state must be recognised as such in every other, even where all of its business is carried on there. The Court of Justice settled that in Überseering and Inspire Art, and it is why English limited companies were once so common in Germany.
That freedom no longer covers British companies. German courts have since declined to treat English companies whose management sits wholly in Germany as bodies corporate, with the consequence that the people behind them answered personally. The trade agreement did not restore it.
For an Irish company nothing changed. Ireland is a member state, the freedom applies as before, and an Irish Ltd can be run from Berlin or Vienna without that argument arising.
So the difference between EUR 180 and EUR 260 is not really about price. It is about which side of that line your business needs to be on.
A branch in Austria, Germany, Switzerland or Liechtenstein can be registered on top of either company; we handle that as well. Tell us where you intend to trade before you choose the jurisdiction, not after. Note that Switzerland and Liechtenstein sit outside the EU, so the point above does not apply there — an English company is recognised in both as it always was.
What a company costs to keep
Forming it is the cheap part. Every UK and Irish company owes the registrar two filings a year, and neglecting them is the most common reason people ring us later.
- Confirmation statementOnce a year the company confirms that the register is accurate: directors, shareholders, address, activity. A short filing, but one with a deadline.
- AccountsThe annual accounts go to the registrar, in abridged form for small companies, and a return goes to the tax authority where the company is liable.
- A registered office where post arrivesThe registrar writes to the registered address and nowhere else. If nobody reads it, nobody sees the reminder either. Our packages from M upwards include the address.
- People with significant controlThe register wants to know who controls the company. If the shareholdings move, that has to be brought up to date.
The registered office and compliance service package are included for the first year in packages M and above. From the second financial year they cost EUR 385.00 net a year for an English company and EUR 470.00 for an Irish one. If you already have a company and only want the paperwork looked after, that is service takeover: EUR 420.00 and EUR 520.00 a year respectively.
The three packages
| UK | Ireland | What is included | |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | 180.00 | 260.00 | Formation and registration, with the certificate and the constitution. No registered office and no ongoing service, so nothing renews after the first year either. |
| M | 580.00 | 690.00 | Adds the registered office and twelve months of compliance service. Post from the registrar reaches us rather than an address nobody checks. |
| L | 1,250.00 | 1,340.00 | As M, with certified formation documents prepared for registering a branch in Austria, Germany or Switzerland. |
The same packages and prices apply to the PLC and to a company limited by guarantee; only the capital differs. If you would rather not wait for a formation at all, a ready-made company is already on the register — see what is available.
Where to read further
- What a limited company isThe form in detail, and how it differs from trading as a sole trader: the UK limited.
- The legal backgroundWhere the rules come from and what they require: the legal basis.
- What speaks for and against itAn honest list rather than a sales pitch: advantages and disadvantages.
- What you have to do each yearFilings, deadlines and who is answerable: duties in the UK.
- How a formation runsStep by step, and what we need from you: the procedure.
- A German hybrid worth knowing aboutA limited company acting as general partner of a German limited partnership: Ltd & Co KG.
Common questions
UK or Ireland?
If your business stays in the UK, take the English company: it costs less to form, EUR 180 against EUR 260, and less to keep, EUR 385 against EUR 470 a year.
If any real part of it points at the European Union, take the Irish one. Ireland is a member state, so the freedom of establishment applies, and you avoid an argument that English companies can no longer win on the continent.
Do I need to be resident in the UK?
No. Directors and shareholders may live anywhere, and the registrar does not require any of them to be resident here.
What the company does need is a registered office in the jurisdiction where it is formed. That is included in our packages from M upwards.
What is the difference between a Ltd and a PLC?
A PLC may offer its shares to the public; a private limited company may not. That permission is what the capital requirement pays for: GBP 50,000 in England, EUR 25,000 in Ireland, a quarter of it paid up.
Our fee is the same for both. Unless you are actually going to raise money from the public, the Ltd is the sensible choice, and it is what nearly everyone forms.
When does an LLP make sense?
Where several people work together and would rather be taxed as individuals than through a company. Profits are attributed to the members and taxed in their hands, while liability stays limited.
It is the usual form for professional practices. For a trading business with one or two owners, a limited company is simpler.
How much share capital should I put in?
For a Ltd there is no statutory minimum, so the figure is yours to choose. GBP 1,000 divided into 1,000 shares of one pound is the usual starting point and what our form suggests.
Bear in mind that shareholders are liable for the amount unpaid on their shares. A very large nominal capital that is left unpaid is a liability, not a badge of substance.
What if the company is struck off?
It ceases to exist, the bank account is frozen and its assets pass to the Crown as bona vacantia. It happens most often because filings were missed and the reminders went to an address nobody reads.
It can be undone for six years: see restoring a dissolved company. Cheaper still is not to get there — service takeover costs EUR 420.00 a year for an English company.
Start with the name
Whether your chosen name will pass at the registrar is the one thing worth settling first, and it costs nothing to find out.
Telephone UK +44 114 6972907 IRL +353 12337845 AT +43 5524 22308 DE +49 69 96759363 CH +41 58 5105770
Read on The UK limited Prices Service takeover Available companies Contact us
This page is a general description, not advice. It sets out the main features of UK and Irish company types in outline and contains no assessment of any particular plan.
Which form suits a given business, where its central management should sit and how it will be taxed are matters for a solicitor and an accountant whom you instruct directly; we are glad to suggest people we work with. What we do is the formal side: forming the company, the registered office, the annual filings and, where wanted, registering a branch abroad.
The capital figures and rules described here are those in force at the date of publication. Our prices are net amounts in euro for our own work; taxes and any third-party costs are shown separately in the order form. Errors excepted; the order confirmation is what governs. All work is carried out by properly authorised people.