Share Capital - Company Formation - UK Registration Services
An explanation of shares and share capital.
All companies limited by shares must by definition have a share capital. Shares represent the ownership of a company and can be distinct from the role of actually running the business. Not all directors have shares in the companies they run.
Authorised share capital.
This is the number and amount of shares a company can issue. The typical amount for a UK company is £1000 of shares split in to £1 each. At any time a company could have in issue anywhere between 1 and 1000 shares whilst the amount it could issue would remain the same at £1000
Public limited companies have higher requirements for authorised share capital simply because they have higher requirements for amount of shares it must issue.
Whereas a private limited company need only issue one share, a PLC must issue £50000 worth as a minimum.
Both public and private companies can adjust the amount of their authorised shares subject to the above minimum limits.
