Who Owns a Limited Company?
Posted on 10th June 2021 at 09:19
One or more individuals have ownership of a limited company. Any company that is limited by shares has its members that are ‘shareholders’ or ‘stakeholders’. On the other hand, any company that is limited by guarantee its members are called ‘Guarantors’. Both guarantors or shareholders can be individuals or they may be corporate entities in the form of trusts, LLPs, association or even other companies.
The guarantors and shareholders are together termed as members. However, the first guarantors or shareholders of any limited company are termed officially as “subscribers”. They are the original members that pooled together to create a company by getting their names added to the memorandum of association when the formation of the company was instituted.
For anyone to qualify as a shareholder in any company they require a minimum of one share. Subject to the share numbers issued a company may have a single, two, three or multiple owners. For one to be a guarantor, an individual must give a formal guarantee that they will pay a specific sum of money to repay the company’s debts if the company is unable to meet its monetary liabilities.
As a norm, a guarantor or a member share has a nominal value of £1 per share/guarantee that is the maximum liability of the individual. This is termed limited liability and is one of the benefits of instituting a limited company over sole ownership.
Any private limited company needs a minimum of one owner. It can be a single individual or a body of individuals. There is no limit on the number of owners at or after the company is incorporated until specific provisions laid down as per articles of association.
To know about the owner/s of any limited company one needs to go online and check the Companies House register. It has all UK limited companies details and is accessible free through the Companies House Service.
For details of how to set up your own limited company please contact us: info@ccsnationwide.co.uk
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