Companies House

Companies House is a government agency that keeps details of every single limited company in the country. They incorporate, dissolve and store details of every such company.

Under the Companies Act 1985 limited companies are required to file specific details. For example, you will have to send Companies House the following:-

• An Annual Return – Directors are responsible for submitting yearly accounts and the Annual Return to Companies House - this is a standard form that will be sent to you each year to complete and send back

• You must also notify them (using standard forms or their online Webfiling service) of certain changes to your company - e.g. changes in Directors, registered office and shares etc. Depending on who you use to form your company, some changes can also be made online using their service additionally (such as with CUK's facility)

• You must also send them copies of any mortgages or charges the Company has given over its assets

• Unfortunately there are dozens of other forms you may have to fill in - so once again, professional advice is essential.

Since 2008 limited companies are not legally required to appoint or retain a company secretary.

There are penalties for late filing. Filing online with Companies House Webfiling means the fees for doing so are reduced (as opposed to paper based filing). You will need to register on Companies House website initially however, whereby they send you a security code and authentification code by post to enable you to log in to file.