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Starting-Up a Company Limited by Guarantee - What is a Company Limited by Guarantee?

A Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG) is a private company that does not have shareholders or share capital. It has members, called guarantors that undertake to contribute should the company need it. It cannot distribute its profits and these are generally reinvested back into the company. Because of this CLGs may apply for charitable status. A Company Limited by Guarantee means that an organisation becomes incorporated as a legal entity in its own right. This means agreements and contracts can be taken out in the name of the company rather than the name of individual trustee(s).

Charities are typically formed as private companies limited by guarantee, rather than as companies with a share capital. They also require a specialized memorandum and articles of association. We have extensive experience with this type of formation, and with assisting our clients in the establishment of a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom. Subsequent to the registration of a private company limited by guarantee with Companies House, we are also able to officially register a charity with the Charity Commission. The process of registration with the Charity Commission is a process separate to the registration of your company with Companies House; although you are not legally required to do so, we recommend that you have your organisation registered as an official charity.

All the companies formed by us will have you or your nominated persons as Directors and Company Secretary. Unlike some company formation agents, we do not incorporate a new company with our nominees as first director and secretary. This means your new company is clean and administration time in your new business will be saved when you take out credit agreements, for example. Allow us to help you to establish your private company limited by guarantee and get it running. This section is designed to provide you information and guidance in starting your own company for non-profit activity. Guarantee company formation process is simple; all that you need to do is just to complete our online order form. Incorporation usually takes 6-8 hours. For the competitive price of just £42.00 you will receive your new company limited by guarantee and can start it's activity immediately.

Choose one of the following packages that will best serve you:
 This is our most popular package with UK residents, and includes:
 Submission of applications that details company's executive officers
 Guarantee company formation is usually achieved within 6-8 workday hours (Companies House permitting)
 Payment of UK legal and initiation fees
 The appointment of your own candidates as directors and secretary (a minimum of two people are required)
 
 The following documents will be e-mailed to you (Note: these documents are to be printed and signed):
 Electronic Certificate of Incorporation (PDF)
 Electronic Special Memorandum & Articles of Association (MS Word)
 Minutes of the First Meeting of Directors (MS Word)
 Membership Certificates and company Register
E-Quick Package
£ 42.00No Renewal fees
Click here to see all packages
(click here for other packages)

Company Formation Home Page  >>  Companies Limited by Guarantee, Information on Guarantee Companies Registration

FORMING A GUARANTEE COMPANY. COMPANIES LIMITED BY GUARANTEE FORMATION

A non-profit company is an organisation formed as a corporation for purposes other than generating a profit, and in which no part of the organization's income is distributed to its directors or officers. Nonprofits receive the same limited liability protection, as do for-profit companies. This means that directors or trustees, officers, and members are typically not personally responsible for the debts and liabilities of the nonprofits organisation.

We incorporate all our UK non-profit companies electronically. It usually takes about 4-5 working hours to incorporate a company limited by guarantee. However if you have specific needs, such as amended memorandum or you wish to use a sensitive word it can take slightly longer. If you want to become familiar with the description and the contents of UK guarantee company formation packages, offered by Coddan and to find above, what kind of service is included in this or that UK guarantee company incorporation package, to get an idea about the price of annual renewal of the service, and about the general legal requirements to the UK non-profit company incorporation, please, select the package you need from the list, situated below the banner. The information in the banner will be renewed according to the package you've chosen.
Finding and Using Information:   Companies Limited by Guarantee. Forming Charitable Company in UK | UK Charity Fact Sheet | What are the Limitations of Being a Charity? | What Problems Might a New Charity Face? | Companies Using the Word "Charity" or "Charitable" in their Title | Which Charities Need to Register? | Which Charities do Not Need to Register? | Charitable Purposes | Purposes which are Not for the Public Benefit | The Relief of Financial Hardship | What are the Prospects for Raising Funds? | 

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Our fee for registering a company limited by guarantee is ONLY £42.00. This type of company is normally incorporated for non-profit making functions. The company has no share capital. Common uses of guarantee companies include clubs, membership organisations, sports associations and charities.
When first setting-up a business there are many issues to consider. You need to decide whether or not to incorporate your business, and to choose a structure for your business. There are several types of legal business entities which you can choose to operate as. For more information on these choices, follow the links below. We advise that professional legal and financial advice is obtained before a final choice of business entity is made.

Sole Trader (Self-Employed)
Limited Company
Public Company
Company Limited by Guarantee
Limited Liability Partnership
Branch or Place of Business

Coddan is a leading service provider in the field of English, Scottish and Irish company formation and company registration. We can help you in starting a business in England, Wales Scotland & Northern Ireland. Over 95% of our companies are incorporated within 4-8 hours. The electronic submission of information enables a fast company start-up satisfying all of the required legal formalities: a director, a secretary, a registered office and shareholders. Our electronic filing software has been approved by Companies House.
Suggested Reading
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Dear visitors, while having a chat session with a customer, we are frequently requested to give a piece of advice on tax planning or business structuring. We would like to inform you that it is against our principles to provide online advice pertaining to these issues. The points that may be covered during a session include service description, package or service price, navigation at our website, ways of making an order, methods of payment etc. Yet, if you wish us to provide you with advice on tax or business structuring, you should be aware that this service is chargeable.

We accept phone orders during normal business hours. Credit cards are the preferred method of payment; we accept VISA, MasterCard and Delta. We can accept payment in UK Pounds Sterling, US Dollars, Euros, Australian Dollars and Canadian Dollars. If you call and receive voicemail, just leave your name and number, as clearly and as possible, and we will call you back as soon as possible.

Monday - Friday: 9:30am to 17:30pm
Saturday: (offices are closed)
Sunday: (offices are closed)
Holidays: (offices are closed on all recognized UK holidays).

Money and Payment Policy: 
Coddan accepts all major currencies. We accept Visa, Visa Electron, Visa Purchasing, JCB, MasterCard, Solo, Switch and Delta. We do NOT charge "surcharges" for credit card transactions. If you do not feel comfortable transmitting your credit card number and other information on the Internet, we suggest you place an order online, choose "Credit Card via Phone" as the payment method, and then phone in to give us your credit card number over the phone. We will charge your credit card manually. Pre-payment with cashier's check or money order is accepted. We accept wire-transfer from anywhere. After you place your order, details about the wire-transfer process will be e-mailed to you on the second e-mail notification. If you missed that e-mail, please call our toll-free number that is given on the order confirmation.

STARTING A CHARITY. WHY START A CHARITY?

Many people assume that they must set up a new charity if they want to carry out voluntary work. However, this is not always correct. You should consider the following points to decide whether a new charity is the best way to proceed.

There are more than 180,000 registered charities, working throughout the UK and overseas, which undertake an extremely wide range of work. It is very likely that a charity already exists which is doing the kind of work which you would like to carry out, and there may be one working in your area of the country. We suggest that you think about whether it would be better to offer your services to, or combine with, an existing charity. It is usually less effective to have several organisations trying to carry out the same work in the same place, and it duplicates running costs. If you wish to commemorate someone close to you, it may be possible to create a separate named fund within an existing charity: this may be just as effective as creating a new charity.

Companies limited by guarantee. Are often best suited to companies seeking grants or sponsorship funding, such as Charitable Trusts, Associations, Clubs and Educational Institutions. It is normal to include a non-distribution of profits clause in the Articles of Association, and we will include this unless instructed otherwise. These companies have no share capital and the liability is fixed to a sum guaranteed by its members.

The company limited by guarantee is a special type of company available to non-profit making organisations and charities. Instead of buying shares, anyone who wants to be a member signs a form agreeing to pay a sum of money (for example £1.00, £5.00, £10.00) if the company goes into insolvent liquidation (is bankrupt and has to be dissolved).

This form is called the 'guarantee' and because members' liability is limited to the sum they each guarantee, then the company is said to be 'limited by guarantee'. The guarantee is legally binding while the guarantor remains a member and for one year after he or she ceases to be a member.

Unlike unincorporated associations and trusts, the company has a separate legal existence from its members. This means that, in its own right, it can employ people, own property, enter into contracts and sue or be sued in the courts. The day to day business is run by the directors, who are also defined in law as charity trustees if it is a charitable company. The directors may call themselves a management committee, an executive committee, board of trustees or board of directors.

Charitable companies are bound both by the UK Companies Acts and the UK Charities Act, so they must send their annual accounts and annual returns to Companies House and to the Charity Commission.

We prepare and electronically submit new guarantee company registrations (formations) as soon as we receive your instructions. To form a guarantee company we need certain information as set out in the online order form. Incorporations can be completed within 4-8 hours. A company limited by guarantee is a registered company having the liability of its members limited by the Memorandum to such amounts as the members may respectively undertake to contribute to the assets of the company in the event of its being wound up. Our team of professionals has the experience to set up your guarantee company quickly and efficiently.

Our e-formation service eliminates the need to complete Forms (to appoint the directors and secretary), making the process of forming a company even easier and quicker. With our new online electronic company formation system, we take you through each step of your company incorporation process as quickly and as simply as possible. Our specialist knowledge and vast experience enable us to provide a fast, efficient, and professional service, and one which a great many businesses have been founded and built upon to date.

Once you have completed our online order form and your new guarantee company is in the processing stage of being registered at Companies House you will receive an order acknowledgement from us by email. Documents we send you via email for the electronic E-Quick UK Guarantee Company Formation Package (£42.00) are: Certificate of Incorporation - in PDF format, Memorandum & Articles of Association, First Minutes of Directors meeting, Registers of Members, Directors and Secretaries - in Word format. We have feature-complete solutions with prices designed to put the £££ in your pocket!

Commonly the "Companies Limited by Guarantee" are not setup to make profit for the directors, where as directors / investors of a "Company Limited by Shares" receive a share of company profits. "Company Limited by Shares" is obliged to use the word 'limited' in its name and on its stationery but "Companies Limited by Guarantee" may apply for an exemption. We offer a choice of guarantee company formation packages to suit your practice requirements. We do not cut costs on expertise and quality but still maintain a cost effective pricing structure.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN ADVANTAGES OF BEING A CHARITY?

The main advantages are that charities:

Do not normally have to pay income/corporation tax (in the case of some types of income), capital gains tax, or stamp duty, and gifts to charities are free of inheritance tax;
Pay no more than 20% of normal business rates on the buildings which they use and occupy to further their charitable purposes;
Can get special VAT treatment in some circumstances;
Are often able to raise funds from the public, grant-making trusts and local government more easily than non-charitable bodies;
Can formally represent and help to meet the needs of the community.