Companies House
Search Companies House UK by entering a company name in the business search on the left handside, which provides live access to
Companies House Webcheck and Companies House Direct.
The main functions of Companies House are:
(1) incorporates and dissolves all UK limited companies;
(2) examines and stores the company information delivered in the UK under the Companies Act and
related legislation; and
(3) provides systems to enable this information to be available to the public.
Services
Companies House UK have a number of web based services such as the Companies House Direct, Webfiling and Companies House Webcheck. These run
on 'CHIPS' (Companies House Information Processing System). Over 1 million businesses have had their company formation undertaken electronically.
The Registrar of Companies House
The Registrar for England and Wales and Chief Executive
is Gareth Jones, who is is based in
Cardiff and joined in April 2007. The Registrar for Scotland is Dorothy Blair, who is based
in Edinburgh. The Registrar for Northern Ireland is Helen Shilliday, who is based
in Belfast. There is also an Information Centre in London and a centre at Nantgarw,
Wales, which houses the E-Filing unit, Late Filing Penalties, Compliance Unit and Prosecuting Solicitors.
History
The United Kingdom has had a system of company registration in place since
1844. Today, company registration matters are dealt with legally under the Company
Act 2006.
Compliance
All UK limited companies in the UK have to be registered at UK Companies House. There are over 2.0 million
limited companies registered in Great Britain and more than 300,000 new companies are typically incorporated each year, the majority using an online
company formation process.
Board and Management
Companies House is an Executive Agency of The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The minister responsible for Companies House UK is
Edward Davey MP, Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs.
The agency also has Trading Fund status which allows the Companies House Agency to directly
manage it's own finances and administration. The Chief Executive is responsible to Ministers for the day to day running of the Agency.
Companies House has an Executive Board and an Agency Business Board made up of senior
DTI personnel, independent members brought in from the private sector and supported by
local directors. They meet on a regular basis, typically monthly, to provide advice
on the governance of the agency, in particular, its performance, corporate plan and targets.
Companies House composition reflects its aim on trying to draw on best practice
from both the public and private sectors.
Contact Companies House
Main Office
Companies House
Crown Way
Maindy
Cardiff
CF14 3UZ
Edinburgh
Companies House
4th Floor, Edinburgh Quay 2
139 Fountainbridge
Edinburgh
EH3 9FF
Companies House Executive Agency
21 Bloomsbury Street
London
WC1B 3XD
Contact Centre
The main route for general enquiries is the Contact Centre. The Contact
Centre staff have extensive experience of products, services
and operations. Their staff will normally try and provide an immediate answer to queries
but if they are unable to provide an answer they will transfer you to someone more experienced
who normally can.
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