In today's world, Companies House is a topic of great relevance and interest to a wide spectrum of people. Whether it is a political, social, scientific or entertainment issue, Companies House has captured the attention of individuals of all ages and backgrounds. With a rich and varied history, Companies House remains a point of discussion and debate today. In this article, we will explore the different aspects of Companies House and its impact on modern society, as well as the implications it has for the future.
Prior to 1844, no central company register existed and companies could only be incorporated through letters patent and legislation. At the time, few incorporated companies existed; between 1801 and 1844, only about 100 companies were incorporated. The Joint Stock Companies Act 1844 created a centralised register of companies, enabled companies to be incorporated by registration, and established the office of the registrar; the Joint Stock Companies Act 1856 mandated separate registrars for each of the three UK jurisdictions. Initially just a brand, Companies House became an official executive agency in 1988.
Prior to 1844, companies could only be incorporated through grant of a royal charter, by private act of Parliament, or, from 1834, by letters patent. Few companies were incorporated, with only approximately 100 companies being incorporated by private act between 1801 and 1844. At this time, no central register of companies was in existence.
The origins of Companies House date back to 1844, the year the Joint Stock Companies Act received royal assent, enabling companies to be incorporated by registration for the first time. The Act created the office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies to maintain the register of companies, which was publicly accessible. It was hoped by MPs of the day that a publicly accessible central company register would help to protect the public from fraud. All companies, irrespective of their method of incorporation, were obliged to register within three months of the commencement of the Act.
The Act provided for two types of company registration: provisional, and complete. The filing requirements for complete registration were more extensive than those for provisional registration. Given that there was no requirement for companies granted a certificate of provisional registration to submit the remaining information in order to become completely registered, the Act was not hugely successful as many of its provisions applied only to completely registered companies.
Prior to the commencement of the Limited Liability Act 1855, shareholders were generally treated similarly to partners in a common law partnership, and had unlimited liability for the debts and obligations of the companies in which they held shares. From 1855, it became possible for shareholders to benefit from limited liability as a matter of routine, provided the companies in which they held shares were registered with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies under the 1844 Act. The aim of this act was to incentivise the creation of new joint stock companies, while giving investors, the majority of whom did not play an active role in day-to-day management, protection from liabilities incurred by company directors.
The Joint Stock Companies Act 1856 abolished the dual registration system of the 1844 Act; provisional registration ceased to be possible. In exchange for providing shareholders with the benefit of limited liability, companies were required to submit certain information to the Registrar for Joint Stock Companies, including memoranda and articles of association (which had not previously been divided in this way), and annual reports.
The 1856 Act also mandated that there be a Registrar of Companies for each of the UK's three jurisdictions. This system remains today, with a separate Registrar of Companies for England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland; 'Companies House' is merely a brand adopted by the registrars.
Company registration in Scotland commenced in 1856, with the first company registered being the Daily Bulletin Company Limited, a newspaper publisher. The first Registrar of Joint Stock Companies for Scotland was George Deane, from 1856 to 1858, before he was transferred to the London office of Companies House to be Chief Clerk to the Registrar for England and Wales. The remaining staff were transferred to the office of the Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer (Q<R), who took on the role of Registrar of Companies for Scotland.
20th century
In 1982 the post of Q<R was transferred to the Crown Agent, and the staff and functions relating to company registration in Scotland were transferred to the Department of Trade and Industry on 1 April 1981.
In October 1988, Companies House became an executive agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, and then in October 1991 started to operate as a trading fund, self-financing by retaining income from charges.
Companies House is also responsible for dissolving companies.
In 2020, there were approximately 4.3 million businesses on the Companies House register. In the same year Companies House ceased to operate as a trading fund.
Number of undertakings registered with Companies House
Year ended
Size of Total Register at year end
31 March 2014
3,250,300
31 March 2015
3,464,155
31 March 2016
3,678,860
31 March 2017
3,896,755
31 March 2018
4,033,355
31 March 2019
4,202,044
31 March 2020
4,350,913
Response to 2020 pandemic
In view of the coronavirus pandemic, from 25 March 2020 companies were able to apply for a three-month extension to the annual deadline for filing their accounts and reports. The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 made this extension automatic for filing deadlines between 27 June 2020 and 5 April 2021; after the latter date, companies could again apply for a three-month extension. There were also temporary extensions to the deadlines for filing confirmation statements and certain event-driven filings.
Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, receiving royal assent on 26 October 2023 and coming into force on 4 March 2024, signifies a major legislative reform for Companies House. The Act aims to transform Companies House from a mere repository of documents into an entity that proactively supervises company registration procedures and plays a role in preventing economic crimes. Central to the act is the requirement for identity verification of individuals wishing to incorporate a company, including directors, people with significant control (PSCs), and members of Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs). This measure is set to apply to all new and existing directors and PSCs.
Registrars of Companies
The role of Registrar of Companies is not a political one, and the incumbent is a civil servant.
England and Wales
The Cardiff office
The Registrar of Companies for England and Wales is based at Companies House, Cardiff, and is responsible for the registration of companies in England and Wales. Until 2011 there was another Companies House office in Nantgarw, Wales. The London office of Companies House, located at Petty France, is purely a facility to file and view documents, which are then processed in Cardiff.
The current registrar is Louise Smyth, who also serves as chief executive of Companies House.
Scotland
The Registrar of Companies for Scotland, is based at Companies House, Edinburgh, and is responsible for the registration of companies in Scotland. The current registrar is Lisa Davis.
Northern Ireland
The Registrar of Companies for Northern Ireland is based at Companies House, Belfast, and is responsible for the registration of companies in Northern Ireland. The current registrar is Lynn Cooper.
Societates Europaeae, which, following Brexit, can no longer be formed in the UK, with any SEs remaining registered in the UK on 1 January 2021 automatically converted to UK Societates
European economic interest groupings, which, following Brexit, can no longer be formed in the UK, with any EEIGs remaining registered in the UK on 1 January 2021 automatically converted to UK economic interest groupings
Undertakings for which Companies House does not act as registrar
The Register of Companies is the index of every undertaking registered with Companies House.
Names
Uniqueness
Every undertaking registered with Companies House must have a unique name. Whether a name is unique or not is determined by Companies House; certain terms and punctuation, and characters after the first 60, are completely disregarded when assessing the uniqueness of a name, and other characters, although strictly different, are deemed to be the same as each other.
Restrictions
Companies may not have names which if used would constitute a criminal offence, or which are offensive. Approval from the Secretary of State is required if a company wishes to use a name indicating a connection to government, or other so-called 'sensitive' words or phrases.
Indication of status
Generally, undertakings registered with Companies House are required to indicate their legal form in their names:
Public limited companies, the names of which must end with 'public limited company' or 'plc', or, in the case of Welsh companies if they so choose, the Welsh language equivalents 'cwmni cyfyngedig cyhoeddus' or 'ccc'
Societates Europaeae, the names of which had to include 'SE' (replaced with 'UK Societas' for SEs remaining registered in the UK on 1 January 2021 as a consequence of Brexit)
Private limited companies, the names of which ordinarily must end with 'limited' or 'ltd', or, in the case of Welsh companies if they so choose, the Welsh language equivalents 'cyfyngedig' or 'cyf'
Community interest companies, the names of which must end with 'community interest company' or 'cic' (or, if it is a public company, 'community interest public limited company' or 'community interest plc'), or, in the case of Welsh companies if they so choose, the Welsh language equivalents 'cwmni buddiant cymunedol' or 'cbc' (or, if it is a public company, 'cwmni buddiant cymunedol cyhoeddus cyfyngedig' or 'cwmni buddiant cymunedol ccc')
Limited partnerships, the names of which must end with 'limited partnership' or 'lp', or if the principal place of business is Wales and they so choose, the Welsh language equivalents 'partneriaeth cyfyngedig' or 'pc'
Limited liability partnerships, the names of which must end with 'limited liability partnership' or 'llp', or in the case of Welsh limited liability partnerships if they so choose, the Welsh language equivalents 'partneriaeth atebolrwydd cyfyngedig' or 'pac'
Notwithstanding the above, private limited companies need not indicate their legal form in their names if they are charities, exempted by new regulations made by the Secretary of State, or subject to a continuing exemption.
Registered numbers
Every undertaking registered with Companies House is issued with a registered number. Once issued, a registered number remains the same, even if the undertaking changes its name.
Registered numbers consist of eight digits, and in certain circumstances a two letter prefix, including:
Companies incorporated in Scotland: SC
Companies incorporated in Northern Ireland: NI
Companies incorporated by royal charter: RC (England and Wales), SR (Scotland), or NR (Northern Ireland)
Overseas companies: FC (England and Wales), SF (Scotland), or NF (Northern Ireland)
Limited partnerships: LP (England and Wales), SL (Scotland), or NL (Northern Ireland)
Limited liability partnerships: OC (England and Wales), SO (Scotland), or NO (Northern Ireland)
European economic interest groupings: GE (England and Wales), GS (Scotland), or GN (Northern Ireland)
Certificates of incorporation or registration
Certificates of incorporation
The Register of Companies contains certificates of incorporation for all undertakings incorporated by registration with Companies House. Incorporation takes place on the issuance of a certificate of incorporation by the registrar. Private limited companies can be issued with a certificate of incorporation within 24 hours of an application being submitted.
Certificates of incorporation for companies include the following information:
Registered name
Registered number
Date of incorporation
Whether the company is limited or unlimited, and if limited, whether by shares or guarantee
Whether the company is private or public
Whether the company's registered office is in England and Wales, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland
Registration of companies is complete once the certificate of incorporation is signed or sealed by the registrar.
Certificates of incorporation for limited liability partnerships include the following information:
Registered name
Registered number
Date of incorporation
Whether the limited liability partnership's registered office is in England and Wales, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland
Incorporation of a limited liability partnerships is complete once the certificate of incorporation is signed or sealed by the registrar.
Certificates of registration
Limited partnerships are not issued with certificate of incorporation upon registration with Companies House, but instead with certificates of registration. This is because limited partnerships are not legal persons and therefore are not created by incorporation.
Certificates of registration include the following information:
Registered name
Registered number
Date of registration
A statement that the limited partnership is registered as a limited partnership under the Limited Partnerships Act 1907
A limited partnership comes into existence once its certificate of registration has been signed or sealed by the registrar.
Accuracy
Companies House does not verify the accuracy of information filed. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy announced in 2020 that Companies House would be given powers to verify the identities of company directors, but did not set a timetable for their introduction.
Other public registers
Since June 2016, private companies can elect to keep certain statutory records on the central register which is held and published by Companies House, instead of maintaining their own registers. These records include:
Register of directors' usual residential addresses
Register of secretaries
Controversy
In February 2008, The Times and Computer Weekly broke a story that almost 4,000 of the names on the Companies House register of directors were on international watchlists of alleged fraudsters, money launderers, terror financiers and corrupt officials. The results came from Datanomic who had screened the 6.8 million names on the register against a World-Check database of high risk individuals and businesses. The exercise also revealed more than 1,500 disqualified company directors were being allowed to run other UK companies as Companies House was not checking names against its register of disqualified persons.
^"Public Data Group". GOV.UK. Department for Business, Innovation & Skills. 2015. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
^"Register a company in the UK". www.great.gov.uk. Department for International Trade. 31 December 2020. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.