What is a company trading name?

In the UK many companies tend to use a trading name to operate under. The company trading name is different to a Limited Company name. Many businesses prefer to operate under a different name and there are many reasons why they would choose to do this.Firstly a company may have different operations, this means they may be running multiple businesses but under the main Limited Company. In this instance it would make more sense to have different names for each business to help give them a brand and identity.Secondly many businesses have a website address and choose to trade under this name, as the company name may be to long or they chose to go for a more memorable website name.There are issues with trading as names, first of all is the Business Names Act 1985 which states there are legal requirements that a Limited company must adhere too. First of all is that the trading name cant be similar to another company name which could then mislead customers. Secondly sensitive words are not allowed to be used, this are words such as “group”, “frederation” and so on.We would always recommend you do you research first, when you form a limited company check out the competition. If you are planning to use a trading name, run a company search and see if there are any competitors who are using this name.Your Virtual Office London are company formation experts. We have formed many thousands of companies over many decades. If you are unsure of anything you have read please do get in contact with us, we are always happy to help. If you would like more advice on trading names, limited company formation or one of our other services we have a professional team ready to take your call.