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Closing a limited company is referred to as dissolving (striking off or winding up). A Ltd Company can close under Section 1008 of the Companies Act 2006, however it has to meet all of the stated requirements.

• You have not changed the company name within the last 3 months
• You have not traded within the last 3 months
• The company is not subject to any legal action current or even propose
• You have not made a disposal for value of property or rights

If you have met the above conditions then you can continue to the striking off application. You will need fill in a form DS01 Striking Off Application. This form will need to be signed by a majority of the directors and will enclose a fee currently £10 to the below addresses.Companies House, Crown Way, Cardiff CF14 3UZ - for English and Welsh companiesCompanies House 4th Floor Edinburgh Quay 2, 139 Fountainbridge, Edinburgh EH3 9FF - for Scottish companiesCompanies House 2nd Floor The Linenhall, 32-38 Linenhall Street, Belfast BT2 8BG - for Northern Ireland companiesYou are also required to send a copy to the below parties

• HM Revenue & Customs
• Creditors
• Employers
• Employee
• Clients
• Members

Once the application has been accepted a notice will go into the local City Gazette, which will notify the public of at least 3 months` notice period.If you need a helping hand please do get in contact with us. We have seen it all, no matter how small or trivial we really do understand how important it is to be sure on everything before proceeding with such a big decision. Please do contact Your Virtual Office London today, we are always happy to help. You can also find more helpful information in our Company Formation Services blog here.

As of the 6th April 2008 privately held companies will no longer be required to have a company secretary. If the company was formed before this date and they wish to remove the secretary they can do so via the Form TM02.

Can I have just one director and no company secretary?

You can now have a sole director as long as it`s a natural person (not a company), a secretary is no longer a requirement.If I have a secretary does this need to be a natural person or can I have a corporate secretary?The new rules allow a secretary to be a corporate entity, only the sole director needs to be a natural person.

Will I need to amend the company Articles?

You will need to change the Company Articles if there is a reference to the Limited Company having a secretary and you no longer want one. If the Articles only refer to the duties of the secretary there is no requirement for the amendment.

When I change the company articles with the new amendment what if any documentation do I need to submit to Companies House?

You will need to submit a written or special resolution along with the latest amended version of the company Articles.If you need help or advice do get in contact with Your Virtual Office London. We have a team of experts on standby ready to offer free professional advice on guidance on matters such as Limited company formation and tax advice.

A report has come out that suggest almost half of all UK company managers are working an extra full day in unpaid overtime every week.The report explains that access to emails after work through smartphones and constant work pressure relates to over 90% of managers working outside their normal working day.The report goes onto state that around 13% of managers work an extra 2 days per week in unpaid overtime. The CBI, a Business lobby group has confirmed many UK businesses are addressing the issue of work pressures which is relating to managers feeling they are needed to work extra hours.Two thirds of company manages feel pressure to work the extra hours, the institute of Leadership and Management has reported.The hours are being spent on lunch breaks, early mornings and after hours in the evening. When you look at the amount of extra work carried out it really does add up.It has always been standard practice for manages to work extra hours when the business is really under strain, but excessive hours are not sustainable and not good for staff health or morale. Decisions can start to be affected which will lead to a break down in performance.A survey conducted on-line found that over 76% would regularly work late from home or at the office, and a further 48% would consistently work through their lunch break. This can be directly attributed to smartphone technology, which has helped access to work emails after hours, lunch breaks and even before work on the commute.

Counter productive

Working hours far in excess of the normal working week can really leave its toll on you. Employee burnout can lead to increased stress and further health complication such as depression and even physical sickness.Smartphones can help benefit employees from flexible working, allowing them to reduce the work in the office and giving them flexibility to work from home which can lead to reduced stress. This can then have a real positive affect on the staff which can lead to increased business profits.This blog post was produced by Robert Carter, Digital Manager from Your Virtual Office London.

Are you in rush to file important documents at Companies House? Do you need to avoid any late penalties? You will incur a penalty if:

• You file your account late after the deadline
• Even if files are sent before the stated deadline, they must reach companies house before the deadline otherwise a penalty will be incurred.

Companies House has offices across the UK. If you are sending documents please ensure you have the correct address and those they you file the documents in time before any penalties.You can find the Companies House locations below. If you are filing outside working hours you can place them through the letterbox. Cardiff is manned outside office hours and you will receive a receipt for the documents.

London

Companies House4 Abbey Orchard StreetWestminsterLondonSW1P 2HT

Edinburgh

Companies HouseFourth FloorEdinburgh Quay 2139 FountainbridgeEdinburgh EH3 9FForLP - 4 Edinburgh 2 (Legal Post)orDX ED235 Edinburgh 1

Belfast

Companies HouseSecond FloorThe Linenhall32-38 Linenhall StreetBelfastNorthern Ireland BT2 8BGorDX 481 N.R. Belfast 1

Cardiff

Companies HouseCrown WayCardiffCF14 3UZIf further advice or information is needed, please do hesitate to contact the team at Your Virtual Office London. We are always happy to help.

According to an industry group, UK retailers have seen the biggest annual decline in prices since 2006. In June prices across products such as furniture, cloths, electronic good and even supermarkets have seen large price reductions.It is reported by The British Retail Consortium that prices have fallen by 1.8% in the last month when compared to the same month a year earlier. This is the biggest price fall since the survey has begun.The only sector that was higher was food, with a 0.6% price increase, non food prices had fallen by 3.4% which is another record. The driving factor is said to be the high competition between retailers and supermarkets. Food inflation levels are at a record low, which means its not costing as much to import food helping to keep relative costs down.The supermarkets are leading a price war with many of the competition trying to gain large percentage shares within this market sector. Tesco has reported its largest drop in quarterly sales in over 40 years, leading to further speculation over more aggressive price cuts.Consumer inflation has also fallen to a four and a half year low, to just 1.5% in May. Consumer inflation is the measure of the cost of consumable products across a selection of items. The Bank of England is forecasting that inflation should be near 2% over the next two to three years.The main benefactor is the British public as they are really seeing the benefits of low cost consumables.yourvirtualofficelondon.co.uk is also helping to keep inflation down, we have a price freeze with all current online services. If you need any help or assistance do get in contact with us today. If you found this blog interesting, you can read our latest blog posts here.

Sometimes a Ltd company owner will need to change the name of the Ltd company due to various reasons. It may be that the name is no longer appropriate due to the nature of the new services provided, or it may be that the company is rebranding to help with growth. Whatever the reason, it is normally important that the trading history and the amount of time the company has been trading is kept on record.

How can I change my company name after incorporation?

There are a number of different methods you can change your name by. Once the name change has been rectified you will need to notify Companies House with the change of name forms and any resolution court orders with any payable fees.

1. By resolution of directors
2. By resolution of the directors
3. By special resolution
4. By means provided for by the company`s articles
5. By Tribunal or the High Court

Once the name change has gone through, you will be issued with a new certificate of incorporation for the name change.

How can I change my company name via special resolution method

You can change the company name by using the special resolution method in a general company meeting, 75% of shareholders are needed to agree the change of name in order for it to legally be processes. In order to then progress the name change, you will need to use the FORM NM01 to notify Companies House, along with the copy of the resolution.

How to change my company name by special resolution condition upon some event

In some circumstances your company will be able to change its name when a satisfaction of a condition is met. When this happens, the Companies House form NM02 must be used for your company name change, it will need to inform if the resolution condition has been met. Your company will then also inform Companies House using the NM03 form when the condition has been satisfied along with the resolution. Once this has been completed, you will receive a certificate of incorporation for the name change.

How to change the name of the company through the provided company`s articles.

It is important to make sure that you can change the name of the company via the company`s articles of association. If you are unable to change the name through the articles of association, you can amend the article before going through with the name change. To change the name using this method the Companies House NM04 form is used.

Change of name by tribunal through the court

This name change is normally carried out by the Company Names Tribunal where a name has infringed another companies name, this can be accidental, however it is taken seriously. Similar names can often be seen to mislead customers by suggesting they are the same or that there is a connection between the two companies involved. In these circumstances, a tribunal will be heard and the adjudicator will decide on the outcome.Your Virtual Office London provides free expert advice to all clients, if you are not sure on which method applies to you, feel free to contact us. We provide impartial and expert advice, we have a vast amount of experience when it comes to forming Limited Companies. All advice is free and there are absolutely no obligations to take out any services with us.

Online banking transactions now consistently hit over £1 billion a day a study has shown.The study does not show the percentage of transactions made on phones, tablets or PC`s, but the rise is probably due to the increase in mobile banking and the rise of new apps to aid this.The research shows that over 15,000 online banking applications have been downloaded every day. This total`s over 14.7 million bank applications have now been downloaded.The report does also show that many people still prefer online internet banking as opposed to mobile phones, especially when large transactions are involved.The rise of online banking, including mobile and internet has ultimately led to a fall in the use of bank branches. However people still like to use the branch for important moments such as mortgages and financial advice.

Business Banking

Business banking has also seen a large increase of its customers using applications to aid with the running of the business. Your Virtual Office London can help get you a business bank account with Barclay's. We are able to fast track your application and this is all totally free, just another great service we provide to all our clients. If you need advice or help do not hesitate to contact us today.

During the lifetime of a company, you may find it can be beneficial to invite another shareholder into the company. You may want to create another share without transferring any existing shares. In effect you are creating a new share of the company.When a new share is created you without any shares actually being transferred you just need to complete the SH01 form from companies House. Since the Companies Act 2006 companies no longer have an “authorised share capital” that consists of shares that have not been issued. This means shares must be issued by filling in the form SH01 which is obtained from Companies House.

Why would I want to issue more shares?

Circumstances change and there can be many reasons why you would want to create a new share for a new subscriber to the company.

• Family member joins the company
• A business partner is brought in
• A staff member has been promoted

How many shares should I issue?

This would depend on how much of a percentage you would want them to own. So for example if there is just one shareholder with one share, and you are looking to bring in a new shareholder that has 50% of the shares you would issue another single share. So both shareholders have 1 share each, equating to an equal share of the company (505)If your Ltd Company has used all the issued shares from the authorised share capital, you will have to issue new shares by creating them.

Why use Your Virtual Office London?

If you are an existing director or shareholder of a Limited Company and you are needing advice on how to issue more shares we can help assist you. Our Company Formation experts have vast amount of experience in forming companies and providing advice to small businesses. We provide a wide array of services to small businesses, including virtual office services, call answering, mail forwarding and registered office services.

The UK is to become the second largest economy by 2020, overtaking France. This is according to a consultancy firm PwC.PwC have said this is due to the strength of the pound against the dollar, when compared to the strength of the Euro to the dollar. The strong currency combined with continued falling unemployment is adding the economy`s growth.Germany is still forecasted to be the top economy in Europe, the US is top globally followed by China, Japan and then Germany.But it says the UK lags behind in areas including education, investment, trade deficits and income inequality.India`s economy is set to overtake the UK by 2030, this will also rise above Germany and Japans to become ranked third largest economy in the world.The UK`s economy is estimated to be worth £1.65 trillion while the French economy is valued at £1.60 million. The consultancy has noted that the UK has strengths in political, legal and regulatory institution. This also includes easing of doing business and strong communications technology. They also suggested that the UK scores well with relatively low unemployment rates and good inflation performance.

Why start a business?

Today has never been better to start a business; Your Virtual Office London can help advise you what the best option is for your personal circumstance. With a strong and growing economy the time is right for fledgling businesses to make the most of the market growth and positive financial forecasts. Good publicity for the economy can have a positive impact on business and this can relate to real growth in your new sector.

A memorandum of association is a legal document that is drawn up when a company goes through formation. This is an important element of a company's official paperwork and goes together with the companies articles of association.Basically the purpose of a memorandum of association is to regulate a company's external business activities and along with the articles of association used to form the company's constitution. Since 2009 what you need to include on your memorandum has changed. However, you do still need to file a memorandum of association on formation.The document itself will list the names of the shareholders or members, and will list the number of shares being held by each shareholder. It will also state what the liability is of its shareholders - limited by shares or guarantee, and will explain the types of contracts that the company will be allowed to enter into.The memorandum can be amended to suit the company's needs should things change over time, with the exception of anything that falls under corporate legislation, and there will be a prescribed procedure in place to follow to make any changes.Being that the memorandum of association is a public document that is freely accessible to be inspected by any member of the public, most smaller companies or those who run their business from a residential address may choose to hire a registered office address to use on any forms that are to be made public. This would protect their residential address details from being displayed on public record.Directors and shareholders who may also want to keep their private home address off public record can use a directors service address service. This can be used on any forms that go on the public register at Companies House and can save them from cold callers and unwanted junk mail.The memorandum of association is a legal constitution that governs a limited company. It is normally referred to as the memorandum. It is a legal requirement in order for you to form a Limited Company.The memorandum will inform Companies House of the name, the location of its registered office address, the objectives of the business, and what liability of its members is limited, and also how many shares are issued and the type.As of October 2009 the memorandum is no longer part of a company`s constitution. It only now contains basic and limited information compared to prior. The memorandum is still required and necessary to be filed.The memorandum is a statement that subscribers wish to form a new company and that they have agreed to become members of the company. By becoming subscribers they are entitled to the share capital and will be issued with a minimum of one share each.

What is no longer required in the memorandum?

• You do not need to state the name of the company (i.e private limited, public limited)
• You do not need to give the location of its registered office
• You do not need to provide the objectives of the company
• You do not need to show the authorised share capital

Companies formed before 1st October 2009

These are not required to change their memorandum to the new format. The details mentioned above are legally required to show in the Articles of Association.Your Virtual Office London helps small businesses form companies. We are experts in helping novices become experts when they begin their first formation of a Limited Company. We also can advise if a Limited Company is the most suitable company type. We also help form Limited Liability Partnerships and Companies Limited by Guarantee. Why not give us a call today, we speak plain English with no jargon.