company types /

Public
Limited Company

A Public Limited Company (PLC) is a corporate entity that may sell its shares to the public. It can be listed on the stock exchange or it can be privately owned. It also benefits from having limited liability. The share capital can be of any size; however, you need to have a value of £50,000 in allotted shares, with each share ¼ paid-up, in order to start trading or borrow money. You must fill out an SH50 form and send it to Companies House in order to receive a trading certificate. Trading without a trading certificate is against the law and the directors can be convicted and fined.

If registering a PLC, the company name must end with Public Limited Company or PLC.

Public Limited Companies are costly to trade with. If you aren’t sure whether this is the right structure for you, get legal advice.