. An exempt charity is: any institution established for charitable purposes which is included in Schedule 2 to the Charities Act 1993. Guarantee companies can apply for exemption of the use of the word "LIMITED" from the company name provided the detailed requirements of section 30 of the Companies Act 1985 have been met. Charities can exist in the form of unincorporated associations, trusts or companies limited by guarantee.
Most companies formed for a charitable purpose in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland are public or private companies limited by guarantee without a share capital. It is a corporate entity with its own legal identity separate from its members and is regulated the same way as other companies under the Companies Acts. The main difference from other types of entities is that it is limited by guarantee, has members rather than shareholders and has no share capital. Some, but not all have charitable status and therefore enjoy favourable tax treatment.
The choice can be important if you are applying for registration. If a charity wants to trade it can do so by setting up a separate non-charitable body (e.g. a trading limited company) to conduct the trading, which will pay its profit to the charity, so preserving charitable status. To be qualified as charitable organisation, private company limited by guarantee should receive approval from the UK Charity Commission, and be registered with this body. Once your charity is registered it will have continuing involvement with Charity Commission. Before trying to register as a charitable company you must first contact Companies House who will register your organisation as a company limited by guarantee. Let Coddan help you with the formation of your company limited by guarantee.
Choose one of the following packages that will best serve you:
Further information
Who would want to incorporate as a non-profit organization? Articles of Incorporation for a Non-profit Corporation, where to incorporate your non-profit. How do I incorporate an organization as a nonprofit? What Does Nonprofit Incorporation Mean? Why Incorporate? Learn about the company limited by guarantee. Extensive tips on why you should form a company limited by guarantee. Charitable Companies. What is a Guarantee Company? Guarantee Formation Costs. Why form a Company Limited by Guarantee? Charity Companies are Companies Limited by Guarantee, set up with charitable aims. Companies Limited by Guarantee, Online Company Formations, free online company name check, ready made or off the shelf incorporations UK Company Formation Specialists.
This is our most popular package with UK residents, and includes:
The registration of your company limited by guarantee from scratch using your own registered office address, and appoint your own candidates to the roles of director, secretary (if needed), and members;
The standard membership contribution on formation is £10.00;
The formation of a company limited by guarantee usually takes as little as four to six hours from the time that your application and payment are received by Coddan;
The government fee for incorporation is included in the price of this package;
The following documents, which need to be printed and signed, will be emailed to you upon formation of your company:
A certificate of incorporation (requires PDF file reader);
The memorandum & articles of association (requires MS-Word file reader);
The first meeting of the board of directors (requires MS-Word file reader);
Membership certificates and a company register.
Economy Package
£ 92.00
Annual Maintenance Fee £50.00
This is our most popular package with EU residents, and includes:
The registration your company limited by guarantee from scratch using one of our registered office addresses, and appoint your own candidates to the roles of director, secretary (if needed), and members;
The standard membership contribution on formation is £10.00;
The formation of a company limited by guarantee usually takes as little as four to six hours from the time that your application and payment are received by Coddan;
The government fee for incorporation is included in the price of this package;
The provision of a registered office address for 12 months is also included in the price of this package (our registered office address service is charged annually);
The following documents, which need to be printed and signed, will be emailed to you upon formation of your company:
A certificate of incorporation (requires PDF file reader);
The memorandum & articles of association (requires MS-Word file reader);
The first meeting of the board of directors (requires MS-Word file reader);
Membership certificates and a company register.
Premier Package
£ 141.95
Annual Maintenance Fee £99.95
This is another one very popular package for small and medium size businesses, such as those being run by a sole director from home, and for companies owned by overseas residents who still need a local registered office address but would rather not open local offices;
This package is often chosen by such customers, who are looking to minimise a sole director personal liability (and who are not quite familiar with the new UK corporate legislation), because this package includes a provision of a nominee secretary for 12 months. This package is also includes:
The registration your company limited by guarantee from scratch using one of our registered office addresses, and appoint your own candidates to the roles of director, and members;
The standard membership contribution on formation is £10.00;
The formation of a company limited by guarantee usually takes as little as four to six hours from the time that your application and payment are received by Coddan;
The government fee for incorporation is included in the price of this package;
The provision of a registered office address for 12 months is included in the price of this package (our registered office address service is charged annually);
The provision of a nominee secretary for 12 months is also included in the price of this package (our nominee secretary service is charged annually);
The following hard bound copy of corporate documents, will be posted to you upon formation of your company:
A laminated copy of the certificate of incorporation of your company;
A hard bound copy of the memorandum and articles of association;
A hard bound copy of the minutes of the first meeting of directors;
Membership certificates, and your company register.
Deluxe Package
£ 266.95
Annual Maintenance Fee £224.95
The Deluxe business start-up package is our most popular package with international customers, and includes:
Incorporation of your company limited by guarantee from scratch using one of our registered office addresses, our nominee director and nominee secretary, we will appoint your own candidates to the role of members;
The standard membership contribution on formation is £10.00;
The formation of a limited company by guarantee usually takes as little as four to six hours from the time that your application and payment are received by Coddan;
The government fee for incorporation is included in the price of this package;
The provision of a registered office address for 12 months is included in the price of this package (our registered office address service is charged annually);
The provision of a nominee secretary for 12 months is included in the price of this package (our nominee secretary service is charged annually);
The provision of a nominee director for 12 months is also included in the price of this package (our nominee director service is charged annually);
The following two hard bound copies of corporate documents, will be posted to you upon formation of your company:
A laminated copy of the certificate of incorporation of your company;
A hard bound copy of the memorandum and articles of association;
A hard bound copy of the minutes of the first meeting of directors;
Membership certificates, and your company register;
The general power of attorney signed by nominee director;
Pre-signed, undated resignation letter from nominee director;
The agreement for the provision of nominee service and indemnification of nominee.
Business Start-Up: Legal Requirements
A private company limited by guarantee in England and Wales must have at least one director, one member, and may have a secretary.
You need at least one person to form this type of company. If there is only one director, and that director is a natural person in your company, that director can also act as the secretary.
A company must have at least one director who is a natural person. This requirement is met if the office of director is held by a natural person as a corporation sole or otherwise by virtue of an office.
You can register a sole director' company, if you are familiar with the secretaries duties and responsibilities, because all of them belongs to a sole director.
The directors and secretary of your company can also be members.
The Companies Act imposes no restriction on the minimum age of company directors. However Companies House will actively discourage the appointment of anyone under the age of 16 from taking up a company directorship on the grounds that the individuals concerned may not fully understand the legal liabilities that go with the position and for the most part will not have the experience necessary to perform the duties of a company director.
Under the Companies Act, there is no restriction on any or all of the members being from an overseas country (i.e. outside the United Kingdom in terms of residency, domicile, citizenship, place of incorporation or all or any of those concepts).
There is no requirement for the officers of your company to be UK citizens or residents, nor for them to hold valid work permits.
Owning, or being an officer of a UK company does not, however, grant you any right to live or work in the UK if you are a foreign national.
Your company must have a registered office address within England or Wales; this is the official address of your company and will be on the public record as such.
Your company must hold its official company documents at its registered office address: its register of shareholders, and its constitutional documents.
So long as you maintain a registered office address in England or Wales, you can conduct your business from any place in the world: you do not have to run your business from your registered office address.
A guarantee company can hold property, and can borrow money in its own name.
COMPANIES LIMITED BY GUARANTEE, INFORMATION ON GUARANTEE COMPANIES REGISTRATION. EXEMPT UK CHARITIES
Dear Visitors, 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 British 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 English 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.
Important Links
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.
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.
WHAT IS AN EXEMPT CHARITY?
For the purposes of the 1993 Act an exempt charity is: any institution established for charitable purposes which is included in Schedule 2 to the 1993 Act; or a common investment fund or a common deposit fund established by a Scheme of the Commissioners which permits only exempt charities to participate.
WHY ARE SOME CHARITIES EXEMPT?
Certain charities are exempt from our supervision because they are considered to be adequately supervised by, or accountable to, some other body or authority. Although not subject to our jurisdiction, an exempt charity is subject to: the legal rules generally applicable to charities; and the provisions of the 1993 Act (unless specifically excluded).
TRUSTEES' DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The trustees of an exempt charity have duties and responsibilities which are no less demanding than those of trustees of other charities. For example, the trustees of an exempt charity:
Must act reasonably and prudently in all matters relating to the charity. Must always act in the best interests of the charity. Must apply the income and property of the charity only for the purposes set out in the governing document. Must protect all the property of the charity. Must invest the funds of the charity only in accordance with their powers of investment. Must regularly review the effectiveness of the charity.
REGISTRATION
An exempt charity is not required to be registered with us under section 3 and, since 1 September 1992, an exempt charity is not permitted to be registered on a voluntary basis. The voluntary registration of an exempt charity before 1 September 1992 ceased to have any effect from that date. It follows that an exempt charity may not describe itself as a registered charity and may not use a registered number.
DORMANT BANK ACCOUNT
Dormant bank account is a bank or building society account held on behalf of a charity which can no longer be traced or whose trustees can no longer be traced.
CONFIRMATION OF CHARITABLE STATUS
Occasionally an exempt charity will need to produce evidence that it is a "recognised charity". This usually arises when the charity is seeking to take advantage of the financial benefits enjoyed by registered charities. There is no formal process for certifying its status, unlike a registered charity where Charity Commission can quote its registered number. Charity Commission may be prepared to confirm by letter that, on the date of the letter, the institution would have been registered as a charity had it not been exempt. If trustees feel that they need such confirmation, they should apply to us setting out the reasons why the confirmation is required and enclosing a copy of the governing document(s).
FINANCIAL BENEFITS
Exempt charities are entitled to exactly the same financial benefits as registered charities. They are entitled to claim:
Relief from income tax, corporation tax and capital gains tax. Exemption from inheritance tax. Relief from business or non-domestic rates. Further information about tax benefits can be obtained from the Inland Revenue.
Tax Planning Through The UK Charity
Exempt UK Charities
£ 42.00
This is our most popular package with UK residents, and includes:
The registration of your company limited by guarantee from scratch using your own registered office address, and appoint your own candidates to the roles of director, secretary (if needed), and members;
The provision of a registered office address for 12 months is also included in the price of this package (our registered office address service is charged annually);
