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Our friendly team at Capital Office are the London Leading Company Formation Experts with over 100 years of combined professional experience. We have been forming new companies for private and commercial clients since 1971. Our highly skilled team possess a wealth of knowledge which has helped us gain many loyal clients over the years, and we are proud to say that we have helped form well over 50,000 registered companies within the UK alone. Capital Office are London's original, longest serving and Leading Company Formation agent.

What types of Company Formations do you offer?

Capital Office specialise in the formation of Limited Companies, Limited Liability Partnerships, Company Restoration, Vintage Companies and Guarantee Companies. We also offer a Directors Service Address, which helps to keep your residential address from being added to the public register. No-one wants to have their home bombarded with junk mail and cold callers, so a Directors Service Address is an ideal solution to these problems.

Here are the three main types of limited companies that we are asked most often to set up:

A Limited Company protects its owners through limited liability. A limited company in the United Kingdom is a corporation whose liability is limited by shares (Ltd), which is the most common form of privately held company.A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a partnership in which some or all partners (depending on the jurisdiction) have limited liability.A company limited by guarantee is an alternative type of corporation used primarily for non-profit organisations that require legal personality.What ever your business need Capital Office will have a solution for your business. If you need advice and are you are not sure on what is the best option for you and your business, do not hesitate to contact us, our expert team will be happy to talk you through what would be most suited to your particular circumstances.

Quite often small businesses who lack available meeting rooms can find themselves losing out on potential new deals or being able to forge new business relationships with others if they cannot hold face to face meetings in a respectable, modern and professional business environment.Fortunately there is a cost-effective and convenient way to solve this problem. Capital Office can provide you with high quality enterprise business solutions to suit your every need, including high quality meeting room space in the heart of London, including smart unbranded conference room hire.As a business owner you may not be in a position to be able to afford your own set of professional offices, so this is where we can step in to help you! Our professional meeting rooms and office space, including host desks, can really help your small business to impress your clients, give presentations, and hold meetings within a smart, unbranded business environment. The aim is for you to take advantage of our services to give your clients the impression that this is where your business is based.Many businesses and clients like to have face to face meetings to broker deals and build strong relationships. It can be incredibly difficult to maintain a professional image towards your clients and prospective new business partners without being able to provide an office space or somewhere to hold a meeting or deliver a presentation.

What do I need to do to book?

To get yourself high quality modern meeting rooms in London with full rapid speed fibre optic WiFi and cabled Internet solutions from as little as £20.00, you can book here. All available meeting rooms are fully air conditioned and have presentation whiteboards. All bookings will receive complimentary refreshments including water, tea and coffee as part of the fee.

We also provide hot desks and free wifi with all hired office space and desks. If you need to hire a meeting room in London or you need an office desk or some space where you can setup your business and work for the day, our business meeting room space can be yours for a very cost-effective price.Simply purchase your chosen space via PayPal on the meeting room booking page. Once the order goes through a member of our friendly customer service team will contact you to confirm the details of your booking and reserve an allocated time slot for your meeting room use. If you have any questions please do get in touch.

When you are forming a limited company it is normally required that you open a business bank account. Luckily, Capital Office can provide you with fast track business banking via our professional business banking partner, Barclays.Keeping your business banking separate from your personal banking will make it much easier for you to manage your business cashflow. You will not risk getting business and private transactions mixed up and you will also be able to work out your tax liability at the end of the year without trying to work out if each transaction you made over the year was for business or personal use.The great advantage about using Barclays for your business banking is that they have a fast track option, so we will pass over your details and you can have a bank account up and running within 1 week. Normally business banking elsewhere can take much longer than this. Capital Office pride ourselves in offering the most crucial services that a fledgling business would need when starting up their company, this includes bespoke website design, business banking, mail forwarding, professional telephone call answering specifically tailored to suit your business needs and virtual office services.The business banking service we offer in Partnership with Barclays is a fast track service which is only offered through Capital Office. We aim to get our clients an account setup within 1 week - a lot of normal business bank accounts can take up to 4 weeks to set up and be made available, not many start-up businesses can afford to wait that long, so if you need an account setup quickly, try our specialised fast-track business banking service.Capital Office can also offer you a London Office address with Mail Forwarding, a Registered Office Address service for all your important mail from HMRC and Companies House, and a Directors Service Address to help keep your residential dress off the public register. This can help greatly with a banking application as you can use your prestigious London Address as the registered office address for your business.Capital Office also specialise in Company formations, so if you need to set up a Limited Company, Limited Liability Partnership, Charity, or any other type such as offshore, Capital Office have the experience and knowledge to guide you.Contact Capital Office now for all your business needs.

All registered companies are required by law to have a registered address. The registered office address is registered upon company formation, and can be changed at a later date if needed, should you choose to move premises for example.Choosing a registered office address service, such as the one provided by us, is a very useful tool for small business owners to have. It allows you to add a professional company address to all your company letterheads, business cards and websites. This is especially useful for small business owners who operate their business from a home office or a small rented warehouse space that may only be a temporary measure as you plan to move frequently as your company grows and needs a larger space.It is also a great way to have a registered address in the UK if you live or work abroad for most of the year and will ensure that all important mail will be forwarded to you so nothing gets missed.Having a registered office address, especially one that is based in the heart of the country in London, can convey a professional image towards existing clients as well as potential new clients that you want to be taken seriously by. There is absolutely nothing wrong with working out of a home office or rental space, but having a professional London address can really add some gravitas to your business image.Our Registered Address Service offers you the opportunity to have a prestigious London Address where your official documents can be received and sent on to your Limited Company or partnership preferred address. This address can be your home address or a different one of your choice. We allow official mail only to get through to you, such as important from Companies House and HMRC. Your new London registered address will be filed with Companies House and they will send all correspondence to your London Address. We do not allow you to use the registered office address as a mail forwarding account, only official mail from HMRC and companies house can be sent to this address.We also help with company formation and registration, so if you are still in the planning stages of formally registering your company, we can help you with that too. You can let us assist you to do everything at once if you prefer - go through the company formation process and register your company with a prestigious London address. When your mail arrives at your new registered office address, we can then forward it on to your location via first class post or you can collect your mail in person from our London Office. The choice is yours.Companies House will send important letters and notifications to your registered office address, so if you plan to collect in person from our London office it is important that you pick up your letters from us in a timely fashion. Large fines can be applied by HMRC and Companies House if you are late for filling company accounts, so we wouldn't want you to miss any important deadlines!If you have already formed your company and wish to take up our Registered Office Address service, we can help with the process of changing your registered office address details. We will contact Companies House and then re-submit your new London based Registered Office address on your behalf.How impressive will it be when you can show new and prospective clients that you have a prestigious London Address! Simply by using our City Road EC1 address Registered Address Service, you will be on the right path to building great credibility for your business.

With our telephone answering service you are provided with a London telephone number, currently an 0207 or and 0203 number of your choice. Once you confirm the telephone number you want to use with your service we will then proceed to activate your account.Once your telephone number has been activated you will be able to give your new London telephone number to your clients and use it on your correspondence.When you first book your exclusive London telephone answering service, we will initially find out lots of details about your business, this is so we can have a clear idea of your business and what you do so we can answer some basic caller questions and general enquiries on your behalf. We will then ask you to confirm the sort of greeting you would like us to use when answering your clients calls. As a suggestion, this may be something like the following greeting:Hello, you are through to Business to Business Limited (your name here), how can we help you today?Above is just an example of a friendly and professional greeting, but you can tell us what you would like us to say and then we will use your chosen greeting every time we answer your calls.

What happens once you take my call?

Once we have taken your telephone call, we can then do several things with it. First of all we can take a massage on your behalf, which can then be relayed to you via email, telephone, sms and voicemail. We take every care to ensure you get your message and understand it clearly. We will repeat your message and post it to you in an email, drop it in your voicemail for you to listen at a later date, or call you directly on your preferred telephone number to relay the message in person, or leave you a voicemail. You will confirm with us exactly how you would like your messages sent to you.More importantly, if you want to speak to your callers in person rather than us take a message for you, we can divert the call to your chosen number, so the client would call your exclusive London telephone number, we will then answer the call with your preferred greeting and then we can divert the call to any number you choose, such as your mobile. This gives the client the impression you are in the office, and we are just diverting the call to a different extension or desk.We offer great flexibility with our packages, so you can tailor your exclusive London telephone answering service to suit your exact needs, and our telephone answering packages offer superior value and flexibility. Our service can really help to create the right impression for your important clients as well as give you the credibility of having an established London based office set up.

Well the quick answer to this question is no, you do not have to have a company secretary appointed to you company - unless it is a requirement of the articles of association - or you choose to set yourself up as a PLC (public limited company).Since 2008, it is not legally required for limited companies to have a company secretary, so unless your articles of association say otherwise, you can do without one.Depending on the age of your registered company, those who formed their company before 6th April 2008 for example will have this provision written into your articles, so will still have to continue with a company secretary. However, the company members or shareholders can vote to remove the role through passing a special resolution. Without passing this resolution, your company will still legally be required to have a company secretary role.Newer companies that formed after 6th April 2008, with no such provision in their articles, have the choice to appoint or remove a company secretary at their discretion.

What does a company secretary do?

The main reason for a company to appoint a company secretary is to ease the workload of the company director(s). Their role is mainly to help the company comply with their statutory duties and other legal responsibilities that need to be maintained and kept up to date.Each company will draw up their own duties for a company secretary, so the role itself can vary greatly from company to company. But for the most part the secretary will be required to perform such duties as:Maintaining company addresses.Reporting changes to Companies House and HMRC.Monitoring finances and maintaining accounting records.Preparing annual accounts and tax returns.Preparing and filing annual returns.Registering the Corporation Tax, VAT and PAYE.There are lots of other tasks that are usually assigned to a company secretary that may include maintaining business stationery, preparing reports, arranging meetings and circulating agendas and minutes, and maintaining public records and ensuring they are accessible for inspection.

Can I appoint anyone as a company secretary?

There are certain rules to follow about appointing a company secretary, but you have to remember that no matter whoever you appoint, the ultimate responsibility for ensuring the company meets all it's statutory requirements sits with the company directors. A company secretary will be tasked with certain duties to complete on behalf of the directors, but not instead of them.You are not allowed to appoint anyone under the age of 16, or someone who is an undischarged bankrupt, a disqualified director, or someone who holds the role of an auditor of the company.Obviously, you will want to appoint someone trustworthy, and if they come with professional skills that benefit your company - then that is an extra bonus! You don't have to appoint a person if you don't want to - instead you can appoint another limited company to act as your company secretary. Here are some other suggestions for a suitable company secretary:

• A professional chartered secretary.
• Your own accountant or solicitor.
• An administrative services company.
• A director, shareholder or guarantor of your company.

How do I appoint a company secretary?

When you first go through your company formation you can appoint your company secretary during or after your incorporation. The role can also be removed online further down the road should you decide you no longer need a company secretary. Whether you choose to appoint or remove a company secretary after incorporation, you must make sure you tell Companies House about this change. They can then update their public record to show the changes.

What do Companies House need to know when I appoint a company secretary?

This is the information you need to supply to Companies House: Company name and registration number, date of appointment, secretary’s full name, contact/service address for secretary - most will usually nominate the registered office address as their regular contact address, especially if they want to avoid their home address going on public record and increase the chances of receiving lots of junk mail.Consent to Act tick box – the company must confirm the secretary’s consent to act in that capacity by ticking the ‘statement of consent’ box on the appointment form.

Companies House is responsible for the administration and maintenance of the public register, so any changes of information you submit can be quickly updated on the public register to show the correct details and aids in company transparency.They hold two types of personal information that will either fall into the public category or will be non-public data that is not shared with anyone. Sensitive information submitted to Companies House is kept secure on a wide variety of databases and storage systems with tight security measures in place to protect the confidentiality and integrity of that information.

The Public Register

Companies House only stores registered company information on the public register that is open to view by the general public.The information listed includes:

• a company’s incorporation
• company accounts
• annual returns
• director or secretary appointments
• shareholder information

The Companies Act 2006 requires certain information to be included when registering a new company or updating the records of any changes. For a registered company director this will include:

• name
• address
• occupation
• nationality
• date of birth

Under Section 34(c) of the Data Protection Act, this personal data is exempt if the data controller is duty bound to make it available to the public.

Why is my date of birth important?

Your date of birth is important as it allows Companies House to be as unique as possible with their stored information. Plus it makes it easier for those searching the Public Register at Companies House to establish the correct identity of the person they are looking for. A date of birth can help distinguish between two directors of the same name, especially when a search is performed.It is not necessary for a company directors to submit their residential address, but they must provide a service address for the public record to enable the general public to locate and contact them. All usual residential addresses (URAs) are kept on a separate record away from public view to which access is tightly restricted.All of the necessary statutory information gathered by Companies House about live companies is kept on record indefinitely. Only statutory information about dissolved companies will be published, and then for only a 20 year span once the company has been officially dissolved. Information will then be stored in the National Archives, but can still be accessed through the National Archives or via Companies House. The National Archives preserve a percentage of all dissolved company information which is determined based on their historical value.

What public data can people see?

Under the Companies Act 2006, and related legislation, Companies house can only ask for relevant information to display on the public record, no sensitive personal information will be disclosed for public view.Companies House will still need to ask you for some personal data, but this will be defined as non-public data, and will not be displayed on the Public Register or can be accessed by the public. When they request this data from you they will clearly explain why this information is needed, and then will only collect the relevant information they need for their records. Personal information about you will only be kept on record for as long as is necessary.If you would like more information and advice about data protection, privacy and data-sharing issues, visit the website of the Information Commissioner’s Office at https://ico.org.uk/.

What information of mine is available for the public to see?

Any information that is submitted to Companies house will be publicly available to anyone. This information will include the companies` details such as incorporation date, company accounts, annual returns, director`s details including appointments, secretary appointments, and shareholder information.

Why does Company house need personal information for company officers?

Under the Companies Act 2006 Companies House requires specific information to be included when someone is appointment as an officer of a company. A director of a company will be required to include their name, address, occupation, nationality and date of birth. This information is then available on the public register and it is legally required.

How long is my information stored on the register at companies` house?

Statutory information is kept permanently for the duration of the life of the company. If the company is dissolved companies` house will archive the information for 20 years (after the dissolution of the company). However it is important to understand that archived dissolved company information can currently be obtained on request either from Companies House or the National Archives who preserve a percentage of all dissolved company information which is determined based on their historical value.For virtual office Lodon services please view our homepage where you will have access to www.yourvirtualofficelondon.co.uk full range of services.

Thinking about changing your company name? Many companies will think long and hard before deciding on their company name a long time before registration. While at the time of incorporation your company name may have seemed perfectly fine, further down the line you may have a good reason for wanting to change it.No matter what you want to change your company name to, you first have to make sure your new chosen name is actually available to use and not already registered to someone else. You will also want to make sure that your new name does not go against the rules set by Companies House about what they deem to be acceptable. You can search the register on the Companies House service page here to see if you chosen name is already in use.There are a whole list of sensitive words or expressions that you are not allowed to use, such as profanities or anything that may conflict with already registered trademarks or infringe on copyright.

How to Inform Companies House

Once you have decided on your new company name, you will need to inform Companies House, the registrar of all UK companies. You can register your change of name by filing Form NM01, along with a copy of your special resolution, agreed by your board.If you prefer, you can submit your change of name manually on paper rather than via the WebFiling service, or via software filing - whichever method you prefer or is easiest for you to do. There will be a charge involved when submitting your changes.Once your change of name has been filed successfully, Companies House will send out a new certificate of incorporation to you, including the date of your new name registration. Your registered number will remain the same as it was when you originally registered your business at the time of incorporation.If you have an accountant, they will need to update HMRC with your new company name. You will also need to update your business bank account provider with your new information, as well as remembering to notify your clients or customers of your changes.Your company letterhead and office stationery will need to be updated, as well as any names displayed on your website.

Just to recap:

A company may change its name by:

• Special resolution (Form NM01 needed)
• By means provided for in the company`s articles (From NM04)

When changing the company name, double check to make sure the new proposed name is not already in use by another company. If the company name is already in use, the new name will be rejected by Companies House.

Other important points to note:

A company in liquidation may not change its name only unless the liquidator has given permission and or requested this themselves.A company in administration or administrative receivership may change its name if the administrator or receiver has given consent in doing so.

Special Resolution

If it`s needed that the company wants to change its name by the special resolution method, companies house requires the business to file a copy of the resolution along with the form NM01. There will be a fee for changing the name and this must be included in order for the change to go through. If you are looking for a template of the form it can be located at the companies house website on this link to the companies house NM01 Template Form.

What is a special resolution?

A special resolution is a resolution passed at a general company meeting help by the companies members, where 75% of those members are entitled to vote.Company`s ArticlesIf the company is requiring to change the name through companies house, you are required to use the NM04 form. Again you will need to pay companies house a fee in order for the name change to get processed correctly.Changing the company name via Software FilingCompanies house charge £8 or £30 if you decided to take the same day name change service. If you are looking to file the change of name, applications can only be filled through formation agents such as ourselves.Web FilingAgain Companies House charge £8 or £30 if you decide to make use of the same day service. The online WebFiling service allows you to change the company name online via the Companies House website, the service also gives you access to other important documents that relate to your company.You can visit the Companies House website by using this link.

UK house prices have risen at their fastest pace in over seven years; this is according to information provided by Nationwide. Many are now worrying about a housing bubble which could burst due to many first time buyers being priced out of the market.Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has already warned the housing market is a very big risk that could damage the UK`s recovery. The main reason is the lack of new home building; it is thought the Bank of England will try to curb the growth by increasing measures to control mortgage lending.Demand for homes will continue to be strong, with the economy growing at its fastest rate combined to new job creation and businesses starting to perform well will increase the demand for properties over the next term.

Update: June 2016

House prices: Eurozone buyers looking to snap up Brexit-boosted bargains.According to a news report from The Week.co.uk, the uncertainty over the referendum has caused the pound to fluctuate, which means buyers from the single currency EU zone have saved an average £26,000 when buying up London properties.Bargains are to be had and European buyers are rushing to snap them up quickly. According to the Office of National Statistics, average house prices in London currently stands at around €596,900. However, on the run up to Christmas last year, the financial markets were more confident about a Remain win, so the pound was much stronger against the Euro and the average was around the €630,100 mark.If you do the maths, the drop in the pound close to the referendum has given buyers an average saving of 5.3 per cent, or around £25,500 in savings on average.Chancellor George Osborne had predicted a possible drop of 18 per cent fall in house price values over the two years following a Brexit vote success, fearing economic shock and reduced demand from overseas buyers.On the Leave side of the coin, campaigners are not disagreeing with George Osborne, but say the effect of reducing house prices following a Leave vote will mean property will become more affordable for young people stepping onto the housing ladder.Some economists have said that should we leave the EU and house prices decline, this will in turn make London property prices even more appealing for foreign buyers, especially if the pound weakens to a level on par with the euro.What we could eventually see is Eurozone buyers becoming even more active on the London property market should we decide to Brexit.