Company Registration

[joyule2104]

Hi
I’m a start up setting up a Ltd company,
We are currently negotiating a lease on a commercial property and our solicitor requires the company details before we instruct him.
As the property lease has not yet been finalised I won’t be able to use this as the registered business address so as an interim measure is it best to use my home address with a view to changing it on companies at a later date/once the lease is agreed
Many thanks in advance

 

[ctrlbrk]

Hi
I’m a start up setting up a Ltd company,
We are currently negotiating a lease on a commercial property and our solicitor requires the company details before we instruct him.
As the property lease has not yet been finalised I won’t be able to use this as the registered business address so as an interim measure is it best to use my home address with a view to changing it on companies at a later date/once the lease is agreed
Many thanks in advance

From memory, if you use your home address it will be linked to your company even if you change it later, so if you have privacy concerns this could be an issue.

Alternatively you may want to use a Company Formation address service or similar offering.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Whilst @ctrlbrk is correct, I'm not sure how big an issue it is having your home address linked- it used to be the norm, still not uncommon

 

[ctrlbrk]

Whilst @ctrlbrk is correct, I'm not sure how big an issue it is having your home address linked- it used to be the norm, still not uncommon

I don't think it's an "objective" issue, more a subjective one - some people are more privacy conscious than others.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

You can use your home address, however, for £50/£60 a year your could have a virtual registered office address. For a few quid more, it could also be your directors service address!

It is unusual for a lease to exclude you from using it as a registered office, unless it is shared space.

Also, will you have ot offer a PG (personal guarantee) as it is a new company?

 

[joyule2104]

You can use your home address, however, for £50/£60 a year your could have a virtual registered office address. For a few quid more, it could also be your directors service address!

It is unusual for a lease to exclude you from using it as a registered office, unless it is shared space.

Also, will you have ot offer a PG (personal guarantee) as it is a new company?

Hi Paul, thanks for your message
I plan to use the premises address once the lease has been signed but didn’t want this to hold things up in the meantime and assumed it’s not appropriate to use the premises address before we’ve signed!
Yes we will be offering a PG also

 

[Michael Walker]

Hi,

A more professional alternative is to use a virtual office address. It protects your privacy and gives your business a more credible appearance, especially when dealing with clients, suppliers, or landlords.


<comment removed - off topic>

 

[fisicx]

Hi,

A more professional alternative is to use a virtual office address. It protects your privacy and gives your business a more credible appearance, especially when dealing with clients, suppliers, or landlords.

No it doesn’t. People check addresses and if all they find is corner shop in Finchley they are more likely to do a runner.

 

[ctrlbrk]

No it doesn’t. People check addresses and if all they find is corner shop in Finchley they are more likely to do a runner.

@fisicx sorry. You really need to stop providing advice from your own personal experience and point of view as if it were fact.

If not, please post factual proof that people are more likely to do the runner in the scenario you mentioned.

Replies such as "I can't find source but trust me bro" will not be accepted.

 

[fisicx]

A good example is 86-90 Paul Street in London. There are thousands of companies registered at this address. Banks and Insurers have a red flag against this address because of the number of iffy companies and LLP.

There have been a number of discussion here and on other fora about virtual addresses. There are good ones and not so good addresses.

 

[ctrlbrk]

A good example is 86-90 Paul Street in London. There are thousands of companies registered at this address. Banks and Insurers have a red flag against this address because of the number of iffy companies and LLP.

There have been a number of discussion here and on other fora about virtual addresses. There are good ones and not so good addresses.

The fact that banks have a red flag against some of these addresses doesn't mean that people are likely to do a runner. This is not factual proof. Forum discussions are not factual proof either.

Do you have a study, an article from a trusted journalistic source (by trusted I mean not tabloid) or similar source that backs the claim?

 

[fisicx]

No. Just talking to lots of people at business and other events about trust.

I will however see if there is some empirical research.

 

[Newchodge]

Hi,

A more professional alternative is to use a virtual office address. It protects your privacy and gives your business a more credible appearance, especially when dealing with clients, suppliers, or landlords.


<comment removed - off topic>

You must, of course, ensue that the virtual office address complies with the regulations brought in in April.

 

[DoolallyTap]

You can buy a Ltd company for just a few pounds and add a registered office for a few more. Can be done in minutes. I wonder how complex this lease may be, how big are the premises.
I am starting up - we are negotiating, some confusion here.

 

[PatrickStephen]

Hi,

A more professional alternative is to use a virtual office address. It protects your privacy and gives your business a more credible appearance, especially when dealing with clients, suppliers, or landlords.


<comment removed - off topic>

We have a virtual office which is cheap and ticked our boxes. We also have the option of taking a physical office in the same building if we chose to and a suitable office space was available.

 

[Wrkmail]

Hi
I’m a start up setting up a Ltd company,
We are currently negotiating a lease on a commercial property and our solicitor requires the company details before we instruct him.
As the property lease has not yet been finalised I won’t be able to use this as the registered business address so as an interim measure is it best to use my home address with a view to changing it on companies at a later date/once the lease is agreed
Many thanks in advance

A virtual office would suit your requirements and your reason for needing one is a common one. As others have mentioned it is a good measure to protect your privacy.

 

[Gecko001]

The fact that banks have a red flag against some of these addresses doesn't mean that people are likely to do a runner. This is not factual proof. Forum discussions are not factual proof either.

Do you have a study, an article from a trusted journalistic source (by trusted I mean not tabloid) or similar source that backs the claim?

On forums, members can and should give their opinions based on their experiences. I certainly do not want to belong to a forum, where members regurgitate something they read that a journalist produced trusted source or not. If you want that, you can get it using Google or AI.

 

[ctrlbrk]

On forums, members can and should give their opinions based on their experiences. I certainly do not want to belong to a forum, where members regurgitate something they read that a journalist produced trusted source or not. If you want that, you can get it using Google or AI.

About forums being used to exchange experiences and opinions I agree.

But if you carefully read my earlier post you will see that I took issue with the wording - not fisicx's opinion.

That is his opinion, and he is entitled to it.


But if you present something as a fact, not an opinion, that's a different story, in which case you should expect someone to challenge you to back up what you say.

 

[fisicx]

My wife worked for many year in insurance. Banks and other financial organisations raise red flags against certain addresses. I was at a corporate dinner some years back and this topic came up in conversation and all these underwriters swapped red flag addresses. One even mentioned that credit ratings can be affected.

I did look for empirical evidence but it’s one of those trade secrets.

It’s not all virtual offices. But there are some to be avoided.

If I’m looking to do business with someone and their registered address is a newsagent in Croydon and a search of CH reveals another 30 at the same address I’m going to be very wary.

 

[Porky]

You might find your accountant might allow you to use their office address as your registered office, many do and then update it later once your lease is sorted.

I deffo agree I would not use my home address because even when you chage it the old one will still be forever on the record.

 

[ThatDevAaron]

ghostmail charges you 19£/yr for company registered address

cheapest option i found personally

 

[fisicx]

One of the requirements for a registered address is there must be a company representative who can accept correspondence.

Set up a private limited company

Incorporate a private limited company - register it with Companies House and rules on directors, shares, articles of association and telling HMRC about the company

www.gov.uk

 

[numbersrule]

For some businesses there is a clear advantage in using your home address in that you can be sure that you will receive all important company correspondence at your home address.

When you use an alternative address there is often a delay in receiving what may be quite significant communications.

Regarding the downside of using your home address, I think the main one is that the business can be visible on for example Google Maps or on Royal Mail Postal Address drop down menus. Of course, some business owners may see these points as advantages as opposed to disadvantages.

This question of some business owners being more privacy oriented than others, well yes, I can imagine some business owners may be quite privacy conscious. For example, if you work in an industry that is a target for peace campaigners or an industry that is a target for environmental campaigners, then yes, you and your home may become vulnerable. It is this type of thing that causes warnings to be prevalent regarding the choice of Registered address.