Ltd Company Name Help!

[Russ Jones]

Hi all.
I have been running as a sole trader for 4/5 years under the business name of ‘X Garden Services’
I have the domain of xgardenservices.co.uk etc and have built up a good reputation.
However, I was looking at going ltd and had a dog on companies house only to find someone has registered that name x Garden Services Ltd in February of this year! I have no idea his intentions as he is a director of a local electrical appliance company too.
But my question is, do I have any chance of getting that name? Looking back, I should have maybe registered that name as ltd anyway so there was no chance of this. I know with being a sole trader I may not. It’s very frustrating!!!!!! Any help appreciated!!

 

[Russ Jones]

Just to add. The X is the name of our local town.

 

[Alyson Dyer]

Russ Jones Ltd. trading as xgarden services?

 

[ecommerce84]

Clever dog.

 

[Russ Jones]

Clever dog.

I don’t understand?

 

[AllUpHere]

I don’t understand?

Read your first post.

 

[arnydnxluk]

It's nice to have a company name match your business name but not necessary.

As a sole trader you are "Your Name T/A Your Business Name".

As a company you can be "Your Company Name T/A Your Business Name".

Trademarks are more important when it comes to choosing a business or company name.

 

[Alan]

So X is a name of a town?

e.g. Preston Garden Services Ltd but that is registered?

( I'm using Preston as an example to make easier reading )

Well you should be able register a company name similar but close enough

e.g. Preston Garden Maintenance and Services Ltd

And still just use your domain.

You might even be able to register as

Preston Garden Services (Preston) Ltd.

 

[MEAVO]

As Mike already mentioned, it doesn't really matter what your name is on Companies House. I've seen plenty of businesses with a specific brand name & URL, but their registered company name is totally different. Most of the times, the registered company name is just a small footnote on a website. Nobody really cares.

You can search for UK trademarks here. If I recall correctly, a standard text mark for up to 2 classes is around £220. It gets more expensive when you want a trademark for the EU and other countries. In that case you would have to do a global trademark search before you find out that you can get the UK trademark, but not the one for say the United States.

That's why finding a name/brand when launching a business is so tricky (depending on your ambitions). The domain name needs to be available as well as trademarks (in your respective class) in the countries where you eventually want to operate.

 

[smallclaimsassistance]

My question is, do I have any chance of getting that name? Looking back, I should have maybe registered that name as ltd anyway so there was no chance of this. I know with being a sole trader I may not. It’s very frustrating!!!!!! Any help appreciated!!

No, you don't.

I'm a sole trader also and for the same reason registered the company name which matches my business name earlier this year, even though I have no current intention of trading through the company.

While I agree with the advice above, that you should trademark-protect your business name first and foremost, I would advocate an holistic approach to protecting one's brand, and therefore basically do everything you can, rather than just the most obvious.

That said this may not be irredeemable. In addition to trademarking your business, you can still register a company name which is very close to your business name, as @Alan says above.

Dean

 

[Russ Jones]

Thank you all for the replies!

My main concern was if he started trading as X Garden Services LTD and had the domain xgardenservicesltd.co.uk etc etc. Because X is our local town name how would the customers differentiate us and if it come down to it, how could i stop him trading as that?

 

[Gavin @ Eooro]

as some of the other posters say, the limited company has nothing to do with what you use as a trading name.......you will see on the bottom of many websites they say what their Ltd name company is called.

As another poster mentioned, Russ Jones Ltd might be good....would allow you to work indifferent areas and use different trading names in the future.

good luck.

 

[Saravanan28]

Limited liability means in case of insolvency of company personal assets of shareholders cannot be attached to meet the insolvency....liability of shareholders shall be limited to its share in the company