Public Limited Companies

Annual Requirements and Responsibilities

The annual requirements and responsibilities for PLCs differ slightly to those of LTDs (please note that this list is not exhaustive):

• The first accounts of a PLC must be delivered to Companies House within 18 months of the date of incorporation, versus the 21 months allowed to Private Companies.
• Thereafter a Public Company must file its accounts with Companies House within six months of each financial year end (the period is nine months for Private Companies).
• The penalties for filling accounts late are higher for PLCs than for LTDs – 4-5 times as high, depending on the lateness of the filing.
• A Public Company cannot qualify as a small or medium sized company for accounts purposes, so cannot benefit from the exemptions, such as audit exemption, that such a classification would grant.
• Companies House will usually pursue Public Companies for breaches of their responsibilities much more fiercely than they would Private Companies.

Special Considerations

Officers

A Public Company is required to have at least two directors and one company secretary. All directors must be natural persons (i.e. not corporate) and aged 16 or over and the secretary must be qualified to act as a company secretary.

Share Capital

A Public Limited Company may be incorporated with any size share capital, but before the company may begin to trade, or borrow, it must have allotted shares to the value of £50,000 (or €57,100), of which each share must be at least one quarter paid-up. Once this requirement is met the company must apply for a trading certificate from Companies House by submitting form SH50. Trading before this certificate has been issued is an offence and the directors are liable, on conviction, to a fine.

Legal Advice

Trading with a Public Company can be expensive, given the share capital requirements and overheads such as auditor’s fees. If you are unsure whether you need a Public Company then the likelihood is that you do not and we would advise seeking legal advice before proceeding.