Ballpark cost of buying an off the shelf company

[sevenupcan]

I know this might seem like an odd question, but I was wondering if anyone might be able to provide a rough estimate of how much an off the shelf company might cost to buy?

I'm investigating buying a dormant company however it would be good to get a rough idea of what sort of figures I might be looking at. What sort of factors will likely effect it's price? The names I'm looking at are simple one word company names like Chicken Ltd or Cucumber Ltd or Example Ltd. Also the age of the companies vary between 5 and 10 years.

Has anyone had experience in this?

 

[StevensOnln1]

Why do you want to buy an off the shelf company when you can have a new one formed with the correct directors and shareholders in place, in under 24 hours? The length of time since the company was incorporated isn't really worth anything if it has never traded, at there will be no company history.

 

[sevenupcan]

Hey, thanks for your reply. Would someone buy a registered company thats dormant for the use of it's name? Thats what I was considering. I'm aware you can trade under a different name but I was hoping to have a company registered in a name I really wanted. Is that a good enough reason?

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

I'd just set up a new company.

 

[Bob]

Speak to these and they will give you a price for "aged" companies that they own. This might at least give you a starting point

 

[Alan R Price]

I just bought a new company, with my preferred name, for £30.

 

[Jeremiah@RHJ Accountants]

To add what has already been said just set up a new company with all the correct directors and can be set up under 24 hours makes sense to me.

 

[teddys]

To add to the comments above, buying off-the-shelf from the market carries some inherent risk - you would never know if the company has got any liabilities whether financial or compliance related. To mitigate that risk you will then need to have due diligence done by a professional which will mean additional cost.

 

[A K]

Hi

I know this is a old thread but here is my question

I am registered as self employed but since the beginning of the tax year my profits have increased quite a bit.

If I buy a off the shelf company will I be able to allocate the profits made from the beginning of the tax year to the company or only the amount that was made after the company was transferred over to me?

Please advise

Thanks

 

[Scalloway]

Your profit will become those of the company the moment you transfer the trade to the limited company. You can't do it any earlier.

I don't think anyone sells off the shelf companies any more, it is very simple to set up a new one.

Run this by your accountant before you take any further steps.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

...
If I buy a off the shelf company will I be able to allocate the profits made from the beginning of the tax year to the company ..

...

No, you cant back-date a change.