Using alternative business names under one Ltd. company

[Lara J.]

A company I do business with is originally from overseas but they also have a UK Ltd. to do business here, employ staff, own their fleet, pay tax etc. In their country it’s possible to officially register additional unique trade names under a Ltd. at their equivalent of Companies House. They can then trade under those names, including on invoices, but a visit to the register will still show who the main Ltd. is that uses that trade name in the interest of transparency etc.

In the UK we don’t have something like that, as far as I’m aware. You can use any trade name you like (provided it doesn’t obviously infringe on other companies) but on invoices you’d still need to show the original Ltd. as the company your customers are actually trading with.

They have asked me if there is a way, without creating a whole new Ltd., to use a different trading name on invoices. It’s fine if it can ultimately be traced back to the original Ltd. through Companies House, a Trade Mark register or something like that but they wish to use a different name on invoices to avoid confusion with a competitor.

What would be the best way to use an alternative name under the same Ltd. company?

 

[StevensOnln1]

They just have to state ABC is a trading name of XYZ Ltd on their invoices, emails, website, correspondence etc.

 

[Lara J.]

They just have to state ABC is a trading name of XYZ Ltd on their invoices, emails, website, correspondence etc.

Thanks, precisely, that’s the option I describe in the second paragraph.

What they want is slightly different, though. They want company ABC Ltd. trading as DEF and then have DEF on the invoice instead of ABC Ltd, a completely different brand. In some countries that is possible because the company register keeps it transparent that DEF is a trade name of ABC Ltd.

So, how could they separate the two, short of registering an additional Ltd.? Could they create a subsidiary Ltd. but with a construction to reduce the overhead because it’s a full subsidiary?

 

[StevensOnln1]

To avoid mentioning ABC Ltd in your example they would have to register DEF Ltd as a separate company or subsidiary as there is no register of trading names in the UK. DEF Ltd would need it's own separate bank account and have to file it's own set of accounts and tax returns etc.