Answer to Question #205503 in English for elisa

Question

Construct a table to show the various legal statuses of businesses (such as PLC, LTD, Registered Charity etc) that your business may adopt. Identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of these legal statuses.

Answer 1

A public company must have a minimum share capital of £50,000, of which at least one-quarter plus any share premium must be paid up before the company can obtain its trading certificate from Companies House and start trading. This is the only type of company which may raise capital by offering securities (shares or debentures) to the public. This is usually done by obtaining a listing on the Stock Exchange or another public market such as the Alternative Investment Market.

Public companies are subject to more stringent legal requirements than private companies on a wide range of matters, but especially in relation to share capital, directors and accounts.