Good company formation services take a UK company from a name to a certificate in about a week, with every detail filed right the first time. A UK company needs no minimum capital and no UK resident, and one person can be the only director and shareholder. New company formations in the UK reached 815,277 in the year to March 2026.
The work around the filing has grown. Since 18 November 2025, every director and person with significant control must verify their identity before the company can be formed, and only an authorised corporate service provider can do that on your behalf. The company also needs an appropriate UK address, a registered email and a filing calendar from day one.
This is where we come in. We form the company ourselves, from €350, and one team handles the whole file: identity verification, documents, the Companies House filing, the registered office and a bank-ready file. You get one written quote, no email chains and a company ready to trade.
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UK Company Incorporation
Binderr
Corporate tax
19% (small profits) / 25% (main rate)
Time to Incorporate
1 Week
Cost
€350 (no pre-payment)
What a UK Company Formation Service Does in 2026
A UK company formation service prepares the company, files it at Companies House and sets up everything the law now asks for around it. In 2026 that means identity checks, an appropriate registered office, a registered email, correct PSC and share details, a calendar for the first filings and a file the bank will accept.
The £100 filing is the smallest part of UK company formations today. For company formation, Companies House checks the details it receives, but it does not tell you whether your share structure or address suits the business. That is why company formation services differ so much once you read past the headline price.
The Companies House Filing
The filing is one online application. It gives the company name, the registered office, the registered email, the directors, the shareholders and their shares, the PSCs, a SIC code for the activity and a statement that the company is formed for a lawful purpose. The fee is £100 online or £124 on paper, and a clean online application is usually registered within 24 hours. A same-day service costs £156 through filing software.
Identity Verification Through an ACSP
Since 18 November 2025, every new director and every person with significant control, or PSC, must verify their identity before the company can be registered. Each person then receives a personal code. They can verify for free through GOV.UK One Login, which accepts a biometric passport from any country, or through an authorised corporate service provider, known as an ACSP. Only an ACSP can verify identity on a client's behalf, and it may charge for the check. On 16 September 2026, three directors were convicted and fined in the first Insolvency Service prosecutions for failing to verify.
UK Company Formation Services From One Team
Our UK company formation services cover the filing and every step around it, so you deal with one team from start to finish.
- Formed by us: Name check, articles, share capital and the filing, all by one team.
- Personal codes first: Every director and PSC is verified before anything is filed.
- Home address kept private: A UK registered office and a service address from day one.
- Live anywhere: Directors and shareholders can be resident in any country.
- Registered in 24 hours: Companies House usually approves a clean online file within a day.
- Account follows fast: A bank-ready file built from the same documents.
- One contact throughout: No email chains, one person from first call to certificate.
Registered Office and Service Addresses
Since 4 March 2024, the registered office must be an appropriate address: a physical address in the same part of the UK as the company, where post reaches someone acting for it and delivery can be confirmed. A PO box does not count. Each director also gives a service address, which is public, and a home address, which Companies House keeps off the public record. A good service provides both addresses, so your home never appears on the register.
The Registered Email Address
Every company must also give Companies House a registered email address for official messages. It is not published, but someone must read it. If nobody checks that inbox, reminders and warnings go unseen.
PSC Details and the Share Set-Up
The application includes a statement of capital, which lists each shareholder, their shares and the rights attached, and the details of every PSC: anyone with more than 25% of the shares or votes, or control by other means. Most small companies adopt the model articles. Since 18 November 2025, companies no longer keep their own registers of directors or PSCs, but they still keep a register of members. Where another company owns the shares, control is traced up to the individuals, as our ultimate beneficial owner guide explains.
The First Filings Calendar
Deadlines start on the day the company is formed. The first accounts are due 21 months after incorporation, the confirmation statement at least every 12 months with 14 days to file, and HMRC must hear within 3 months of the company becoming active. Company formation services that stop at the certificate leave these dates to you.
A Bank-Ready File
A new company cannot apply for an account until it exists, and the bank then asks for most of the same documents again: the certificate, the articles, the ownership chart, identity and address proof for each owner and a short description of the business. Good company formation services build that file at the same time as the company file, so the account can follow within days.
Types of Company Formation Services in the UK
Company formation services in the UK come in six types: filing directly at Companies House, budget agent packages, privacy and all-inclusive packages, formation bundled with accounting, business accounts that include formation, and full-service formation like ours. The £100 Companies House fee is the same in every one. The best company formation in the UK depends on what sits around it.
Type of service | Typical published price | What is included | What is extra |
|---|---|---|---|
Filing directly at Companies House | £100 online, £124 on paper, £156 same day | Registration only | Identity check, address, articles, share and PSC details and later filings, all done by you |
Budget agent basic package | £1.99 to £4.99 plus the £100 fee | Filing, digital documents and the identity check | Registered office and service address |
Privacy package | £3.99 to £17.99 plus the £100 fee | Adds a London registered office and service address for 12 months | Address renewals from year two, such as £39 plus VAT a year for a registered office |
All-inclusive package | £9.99 to £149.99 plus the £100 fee | Adds VAT and PAYE registration and a compliance service | Compliance renewals, such as £149.99 plus VAT a year |
Formation bundled with accounting | £1 to £100 when you join a monthly accounting plan | Formation plus accounts and tax returns | The monthly plan, from £49 plus VAT to £94 a month in two published examples |
Business account with free formation | £14.99, or £1 with a paid company secretary service | Registration, documents and a business account | Registered office; built for UK-based businesses |
Full-service formation, our route | From €350, plus the £100 fee on the quote | Advice, identity verification guidance, documents, filing, PSC and share set-up and a bank-ready file | Registered office service, quoted with your setup |
Read the last two columns together. The low headline prices of company formation services in the UK are real, but most packages leave out the registered office or renew it at a higher price after the first year, and the yearly filings and the bank sit outside them. Agent fees also carry VAT at 20%, while the Companies House fee does not.
Filing Directly at Companies House
For company formation, Companies House charges £100 online, £124 on paper and £156 for same-day registration, and anyone can file this way. The fee buys the registration only. The founder then handles the identity check, the address, the articles, the share and PSC details and every later filing alone. It is a real option in the market, but it is not the route we suggest for a founder abroad or anyone short of time.
Company Formation Packages in the UK From Budget Agents
The large agents sell basic company formation packages in the UK for a few pounds on top of the £100 fee. Quality Company Formations lists its Basic package at £1.99, Your Company Formations its Digital package at £2.48 and Rapid Formations its Basic package at £2.99 plus VAT, and each adds the £100 fee on top. 1st Formations lists its Digital package at £102.99 and Companies Made Simple its Basic package at £104.99, both including the fee. All five list an identity check in the package, but a basic package does not include a registered office or a service address.
Privacy and All-Inclusive Packages
Privacy packages add a London registered office and a service address for the first 12 months: £3.99 at Quality Company Formations, £14.99 at Rapid Formations and £17.99 at 1st Formations, each on top of the £100 fee. All-inclusive packages add VAT and PAYE registration and a compliance service, at £9.99 to £39.99 on top of the fee at the same company formation agents, and £149.99 for the Entrepreneurs package at Your Company Formations. Formation companies in the UK often charge more from year two. Quality Company Formations renews its registered office at £39 plus VAT a year, a service address at £26 plus VAT, and its compliance service at £149.99 plus VAT.
The UK Company Formation Service Accounting Firms Use
Accountants often form the company when they take on a new client, and tie it to a monthly plan. Crunch registers a limited company for £100 as part of joining, with limited company accounting from £94 a month. 1st Formations sells an All Inclusive with Accounting package for £1 and pays the £100 fee itself, with accounting from £49 plus VAT a month after the first month. So the UK company formation service accounting firms use is cheap to start, and the real cost sits in the plan. See UK company formation for accountants and law firms.
Business Accounts That Include Free Formation
Some business account providers pay most of the fee to win the account. Tide registers a limited company for £14.99, or for £1 with its Company Secretary service at £12.50 plus VAT a month, and opens a business account with it. The offer is for applicants aged 18 or over with a UK-based business, and it does not include a registered office. Read more: free UK company formation with a business account and cheap and free UK company formation options.
UK Company Incorporation
Binderr
Corporate tax
19% (small profits) / 25% (main rate)
Time to Incorporate
1 Week
Cost
€350 (no pre-payment)
What the Best Company Formation Service in the UK Must Include
The best company formation service in the UK is not the cheapest line on a price list. It verifies every person properly, gives you a compliant address, keeps your home private, prices its add-ons honestly, stays with you after the certificate and has an account route that works if you live abroad. We hold our own service to the same tests, because the best company formation services in the UK pass all of them.
Why Your UK Company Formation Agent Needs ACSP Status
Only an ACSP can verify identity for Companies House on a client's behalf, and a firm can register as one only if a UK anti-money laundering supervisor oversees it. From no earlier than November 2027, with at least 6 months' notice, company registration agents in the UK that file for clients will also need to be ACSPs. Companies House keeps a public list of ACSPs, and after verification the register names the ACSP that checked each person. A UK company formation agent without that status cannot verify anyone for you.
Identity Checks Included in the Price
Every director and PSC needs a personal code before the company can be registered. GOV.UK One Login is free, but it does not suit everyone: an expired passport cannot be used, and a failed app check means another route. UK company formation services that include the check, or guide each person through One Login, remove a common delay at the start. The best company formation agent in the UK prices the check for every person, not only the first director.
A Registered Office That Meets the Rules
The registered office must be in the right part of the UK: England or Wales for a company registered there, and Scotland for a Scottish company. A registered office service is fine, as long as post is handled and delivery can be confirmed. HMRC sends the tax reference there and Companies House sends reminders and penalty notices, so the address must stay live for as long as the company exists. See the UK registered office address rules.
Privacy for Your Home Address
The registered office and each director's service address are public. If you use your home for either, it goes on the register. Removing it later means an application on form SR01, at £34 for each document listed, and for a registered office you must move the company's address first. The best company formation service in the UK provides a service address and a registered office from day one, which avoids that cost.
What a Formations Company Should Do After Day One
A formations company should not disappear once the certificate arrives. The confirmation statement, the first accounts and the tax registration all follow, and any change to directors, PSCs or their details must reach Companies House within 14 days, or within a month for new shares. A formations company that sets out these dates for you saves penalties that start at £150 for late accounts.
Honest Add-On Pricing
Read the renewal price, not only the first-year price. Address and compliance services often renew at a higher fee in year two, and some packages include the confirmation statement only for the first year. The best UK company formation agent shows the full first-year cost and every renewal price in writing before you pay.
A Bank Account Route for Non-Residents
A new company needs an account to trade. Some UK banks need UK-resident applicants: NatWest asks for a UK-resident applicant, and Starling needs UK-resident directors and PSCs. If you live abroad, check that the account route accepts owners abroad: the best company formation agent in the UK does not hand you a referral that ends in a refusal.
Why Founders Pick Us as Their Formation Company in the UK
We form the company ourselves. As a formation company in the UK market, we run every step through one team, from €350 for a standard private company limited by shares, with the £100 Companies House fee shown as its own line on your quote. It is one service, not a list of options to work through.
One Price, Confirmed in Writing
Our price starts from €350 and covers structure advice, the name check, identity verification guidance, the articles, the statement of capital, the PSC details, the filing and a bank-ready file. You see the full scope and the first-year budget before you pay, and there is no pre-payment.
Identity Checks, Documents and Filings Handled
Our company registration service in the UK guides every director and PSC through verification before anything is filed. We collect the documents once and file the application ourselves. If a detail needs fixing, we fix it with you before Companies House sees it.
A Company Ready for the Bank
The KYC pack we build for the company is the one our regulated banking partners ask for, so the account can open within days. You keep one contact from the first call to the certificate and after it. See how to set up a UK company with a bank account in one process.
How a UK Company Registration Agent Forms Your Company
As your UK company registration agent, we run five stages in order, and most of the work happens before the filing. With a clean file, the whole process takes about a week, while Companies House itself usually needs less than a day. For the registration rules in full, see our UK company registration guide.
We Check the Name
We check the name against the register, the 'same as' rules and the list of sensitive words. A name that differs from an existing one only by punctuation or a common word counts as the same and is refused. The name must end in Limited or Ltd. Read how to check a UK company name before you pay for a logo or a domain.
Every Director and PSC Gets a Personal Code
Each person verifies once, and the personal code then works for every UK company they are involved in. A UK company registration agent should start this on day one, because it is the step most likely to add days.
We Settle the Address, Shares and SIC Code
We arrange the registered office, set the registered email, draft the statement of capital, confirm the PSCs and choose the SIC code, a five-digit code for the activity. Most small companies adopt the model articles. Where several shareholders need special rights, the articles are agreed with you before filing.
We File at Companies House
We submit one online application with the statement of lawful purpose. A clean application is usually registered within 24 hours.
You Receive the Certificate and the Bank File
Companies House issues the certificate of incorporation with the company number and the date of formation. HMRC posts the Unique Taxpayer Reference to the registered office, and you can request it online if it has not arrived within 15 working days. You also receive the articles and the statement of capital as filed, plus the bank file. See the UK company incorporation documents you receive.
Company Registration Service in the UK
Our company registration service in the UK covers every stage above, fully online, so nothing has to be filed twice.
- Name cleared early: Checked against the register before you spend on a brand.
- No failed checks: Each personal code is in place before the application goes in.
- Right first time: Addresses, shares and PSC details filed once, with no queries.
- Articles that fit: Model articles, or rules agreed with you for several shareholders.
- Quicker than filing alone: One complete file, so Companies House has nothing to query.
- Documents in one place: Certificate, articles and bank file sent together.
Documents Needed for UK Company Formations
Companies House asks for details rather than certified copies, because identity is checked through verification. Company registration services in the UK still need documents for their own checks and for the bank, so we collect them once for UK company formations and use them for both files.
- Passport: A valid passport for each director, shareholder and PSC, ideally the one used to verify.
- Proof of address: A bank statement or utility bill dated within the last 3 months.
- Personal code: From GOV.UK One Login or an ACSP, one for each director and PSC.
- Home and service addresses: The home address stays private, the service address is public.
- Business description: What the company will do, where it will trade and its SIC code.
- Source of funds: Where the starting money comes from, for our checks and the bank.
Where another company owns the shares, add its registry extract, its constitution and an ownership chart up to the individuals. Names, dates and addresses must match across every document, because a mismatch is a common reason for a query at the bank.
What a UK Company Formation Service Costs in 2026
Our UK company formation service starts from €350, paid once, for a standard private company limited by shares, holding and trading companies included. It covers the structure advice, the name check, identity verification guidance, the model articles, the statement of capital, the PSC details, the filing and a bank-ready file, all confirmed in writing before you pay. The £100 Companies House fee is its own line on the quote. Layered groups, regulated firms and high-risk activities are quoted separately and can cost more.
The first year adds running costs to UK company formations. The table starts with our price and adds the costs of the first 12 months.
Cost item | When it is paid | Typical amount | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
Company formation with Binderr | Once, before filing | From €350 | Structure advice, name check, identity verification guidance, articles, statement of capital, PSC details, filing and the bank file |
Companies House incorporation fee | Once, at filing | £100 online | The government registration fee, shown as its own line on your quote |
Identity verification | Once per person, before filing | Free through GOV.UK One Login | The personal code each director and PSC needs |
Registered office service | Each year, if you have no suitable UK address | Quoted with your setup, against published prices of about £22 to £85 a year for the address alone | An appropriate UK address for official post |
ICO data protection fee | Each year, if the company handles personal data | £52 or £78 for most small companies | Registration with the Information Commissioner's Office |
Confirmation statement | Within 14 days after the first anniversary | £50 online | The yearly confirmation of the company's details |
Accounts and Company Tax Return | First accounts within 21 months, then yearly | About £1,000 to £2,500 a year for a compliance-only package, as a planning range | Statutory accounts for Companies House and the tax return for HMRC |
Business account with our banking partners | Monthly, once the account is open | About €30 to €100 a month on a published plan | A multi-currency account with real IBANs |
Realistic first-year total | Year one | About €2,000 to €5,000 for a simple UK company, before VAT, payroll or licence costs | Our price, the filing fee, the yearly filings, accounting and an account |
Registering for Corporation Tax, VAT and PAYE with HMRC is free.
First-Year Cost by Company Profile
What the company does and where its owners live move the total most.
Company profile | Realistic first year | What drives the cost |
|---|---|---|
One-person company run by a UK-resident director | About €2,000 to €4,500 | Compliance-only accounting, the yearly filings and a modest account plan |
Company owned and run from abroad | About €2,200 to €5,000 | A registered office service, post forwarding and a multi-currency account |
Holding company with no trading | About €2,000 to €4,000 | Simple accounts and a tax return, with no VAT or payroll |
Trading company with VAT and payroll | About €3,000 to €5,500 | Monthly bookkeeping at about £150 to £250 a month, VAT returns and director payroll |
Regulated or high-risk company | Quoted separately | Licence, capital and specialist banking, priced case by case |
VAT, payroll, the account plan and owners abroad move the total most. These are planning ranges, with sterling converted at recent rates, and your written quote is what counts. Read more: the cost of setting up a UK company.
UK Company Incorporation
Binderr
Corporate tax
19% (small profits) / 25% (main rate)
Time to Incorporate
1 Week
Cost
€350 (no pre-payment)
How Long New Company Formations in the UK Take
Most new company formations in the UK are registered within 24 hours of a clean online filing. With us, the whole process from the first call to the certificate takes about a week, and most of that week goes on identity checks and documents.
Stage | Typical time | What happens |
|---|---|---|
Identity verification | Same day with GOV.UK One Login, longer through an ACSP | Each director and PSC gets a personal code |
Preparing the file | A few days, inside our one-week timeline | Name, address, shares, articles, PSCs and SIC code agreed |
Companies House | Usually within 24 hours online, the same day for £156, or 8 to 10 days on paper | The certificate of incorporation is issued |
HMRC tax reference | Within about 15 working days | The Unique Taxpayer Reference is posted to the registered office |
Account with our banking partners | Usually 2 to 4 days from a complete file | A multi-currency business account opens |
The registry is rarely the slow part of new company formations in the UK. Delays come before the filing, from checks and documents, or after it, at the bank.
What Adds Days
A failed online identity check, a name that clashes with one on the register, an address that is not appropriate and a corporate shareholder whose owners are not yet identified all add time. A paper application adds 8 to 10 days on its own.
How to Keep It to a Week
In the best company formation in the UK, the personal codes start on day one and the bank file is prepared with the company file, not after it. Our guide on how long it takes to register a UK company covers each stage.
Company Formation Packages in the UK From €350
Our company formation packages in the UK start from €350, and you see the first-year budget before you pay anything.
- Starts from €350: One price for a standard private limited company.
- £100 fee shown apart: The Companies House fee is its own line, never hidden.
- Year-one budget: About €2,000 to €5,000 for a simple company, in writing.
- Pay once scope is agreed: No pre-payment until the work is confirmed.
- Renewals shown upfront: Address and account costs quoted before you commit.
- Calendar from day one: Every Companies House and HMRC date set out when the company is formed.
What Non-Residents Need From UK Company Formation Agents
Non-residents follow the same rules, pay the same fee and file the same application as UK residents, and nobody has to live in the UK or travel. What changes is what the service must provide from a distance: a UK address, identity checks that work abroad, tax planning and an account route. Our guide to UK company formation for non-residents covers the rules in full.
A UK Address and Post Forwarding
A founder abroad has no UK address to give, so the registered office comes from a UK formation company or address service that forwards post quickly. HMRC posts the Corporation Tax activation code to the registered office within 10 days, or 21 days if you live abroad, and the company needs it to use HMRC's online services for Corporation Tax.
Identity Checks From Abroad
GOV.UK One Login accepts a biometric passport from any country, so founders abroad can usually verify through the app. The Post Office route is only in the UK, so anyone the app cannot verify goes through an ACSP instead.
Tax Residence and VAT
A UK-incorporated company is UK tax resident, but if the directors run it from another country, that country may claim it too, so check whether a UK company is tax resident before the first board meeting. HMRC also says incorporation alone does not create a UK establishment for VAT, so a company run from abroad can have to register from its first UK sale. See UK VAT registration for non-resident companies.
The best UK company formation agents for non-residents in 2026 settle these three points before the filing, not after the first letter from HMRC.
UK Formation Company for Founders Abroad
As a UK formation company for founders abroad, we run every step remotely and plan the parts that change when you live outside the UK.
- No visit to the UK: Verification, signing and filing all happen online.
- UK address arranged: An appropriate registered office, with post forwarded to you.
- Tax home agreed early: We plan where the board meets before anything is filed.
- VAT checked from sale one: We confirm whether the company must register at once.
- Owners abroad welcome: Our partners open accounts for foreign-owned companies.
- Any biometric passport: One Login accepts biometric passports from every country.
Business Banking for a Newly Formed UK Company
A new company can apply for an account only once the certificate exists. UK banks can be cheap for a UK-resident founder, but they want UK-resident applicants and take their time with a new company. Our partners open accounts in days, with owners anywhere.
Feature | UK banks | Our partners |
|---|---|---|
Time to open | Often several weeks for a new company, after credit and residency checks | Usually 2 to 4 days from a complete file |
Who they accept | NatWest needs a UK-resident applicant; Starling needs UK-resident directors and PSCs | Owners and directors who live abroad |
Minimum balance | None on a standard business account | None |
Monthly cost | £8.50 a month at Barclays after 12 free months; no fee at Starling | About €30 to €100 a month on a published plan |
Multi-currency | Sterling first, with separate currency accounts | Several currencies in one account, with real IBANs |
International payments | £15 to send one in the Barclays app | About €5 to €25 to send, €5 or less to receive |
Foreign exchange | A conversion charge of up to 2% at Barclays | About 0.25% to 1.0% over the interbank rate |
A UK bank is often cheaper on the monthly fee, and a start-up offer can make it free for a year. Our partners win on speed, on owners abroad and on every payment that crosses a border.
Why UK Banks Are Slow With a New Company
A new company has no trading record, so a high street bank leans on the directors' own UK credit history, and some cannot take a company whose director or PSC lives abroad. If that is you, see UK business bank accounts for non-residents.
The Faster Route Through Our Banking Partners
We work with regulated payment partners that open multi-currency accounts for new UK companies in days, online and with no minimum balance, using the KYC pack from the company file. Client money is safeguarded. Read what an EMI account is if these accounts are new to you, and how to open a UK business bank account.
Read more: our UK business bank account guide and the best business bank accounts in the UK.
Equals Money
Business Bank Account
Time to onboard
2 Days
Account opening fee
Free
Monthly fee
€30
3S Money
Cross-border payments
Time to onboard
4 Days
Account opening fee
Free
Monthly fee
Starting from € 100
UK vs Ireland, Cyprus and Malta for Company Formation
Founders planning a UK company often weigh an EU company too: Ireland for trading, and Cyprus or Malta for holding structures. We form companies in all four, so the choice comes down to tax, access to the EU and what each company needs to stay in good standing.
Factor | UK | Ireland | Cyprus | Malta |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Standard company tax | 19% small profits rate, 25% main rate | 12.5% trading, 25% non-trading | 15% flat | 35% headline, about 5% effective for non-resident shareholders after the refund |
VAT | 20% | 23% | 19% | 18% |
EU member | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Known for | Low-cost formation and a company form banks know | Trading and technology companies in the EU | EU holding companies with a wide treaty network | Holding structures and the shareholder refund |
Our price | From €350 | From €1,899 | From €1,200 | From €1,299 |
Time to incorporate | 1 week | 1 week | 1 week | 1 week |
The UK is the cheapest of the four to form and the only one outside the EU single market. The EU options cost more to form and to run, and they are worth it when contracts, customers or a licence need an EU company.
UK vs Ireland
Ireland taxes trading profit at 12.5%, below the UK's 19% small profits rate. But every Irish company needs a company secretary, and one with no director resident in the European Economic Area needs a €25,000 Section 137 bond. A UK company needs neither. Read our Ireland company formation guide.
Ireland Company Incorporation
Binderr
Corporate tax
12.5% trading / 25% non-trading income
Time to Incorporate
1 Week
Cost
€1,899
UK vs Cyprus
Cyprus charges a flat 15% on company profit from 2026, lower than both UK rates. It is used mainly for EU holding companies that receive dividends from several countries. See holding company formation in Cyprus.
Cyprus Company Incorporation
Binderr
Corporate tax
15% flat
Time to Incorporate
1 Week
Cost
€1,200 one-off
UK vs Malta
Malta charges 35% on company profit, then refunds six sevenths of that tax to shareholders after a dividend, for an effective rate of about 5%. Each refund needs a claim, so a Malta company takes more work to run than a UK one. Read how to set up a Malta holding company.
Malta Company Incorporation
GCS Malta
Effective tax
~5% for non-resident
Time to Incorporate
1 Week
Cost
Starting from €1,299
Who a UK Company Formation Service Is Wrong For
A company formation service in the UK is the wrong buy if your accountant already forms the company inside a monthly plan you need anyway, or if you only need to register as a sole trader, which costs nothing at HMRC. It also cannot fix the wrong structure. A business that needs an EU company for its customers, or FCA permission for payments, crypto or investment work, should settle that first, because the licence decides the timeline.
If privacy is the main goal, no service can keep the company's accounts, the directors' names or their month and year of birth off the public register. And a group that needs a UK holding company above the trading company should plan both at once, not form one and fix the other later.
Common Mistakes When Choosing UK Company Formation Agents
Most mistakes with UK company formation agents come from reading the headline price and not the scope. The best UK company formation agent avoids every one of these, and our quote is built to rule each one out.
Paying for Hidden Add-Ons Later
A formations company selling a package at a few pounds often renews its address and compliance services at a full yearly price, and some charge again for each filing after the first year. Add up year two before you pay for year one.
A Package With No Identity Service
If a package leaves out the identity check and a director's online check fails, the filing stops until that person verifies through an ACSP, which may charge for it. Confirm that the check is included for every person.
A Cheap Package With No Registered Office
Without a registered office service, many founders use their home address, which then sits on the public register. Removing it later costs £34 for each document listed on form SR01.
Letting the Address Service Lapse
Formation companies in the UK stop handling post when the registered office service ends, and HMRC letters and Companies House reminders are then lost. A company without an appropriate address can be struck off the register.
A Bank Offer You Cannot Use
Account offers inside a formation package are often built for UK residents. The best UK company formation agents for non-residents in 2026 build the bank file with the company file, because a founder abroad can otherwise finish with a company and no account.
Advice on Company Formations in the UK
Most companies are simple to form, but some need a conversation before any form is filed. If one of these fits you, talk to us first.
- Several shareholders: Share classes, dividend rights and articles that match them.
- Group above the company: A holding company, a trust or layered ownership to trace.
- Trading already as yourself: Timing the move from sole trader to company.
- Regulated activity: Payments, e-money or investment work, where the FCA comes first.
- Directors in several countries: Where the board meets and where the company pays tax.
Bottom Line
The best company formation services in the UK do far more than file a £100 form. In 2026 they verify every director and PSC, give the company an appropriate address and keep your home off the register, set up the shares and PSCs correctly, and hand you a calendar and a file the bank accepts. Even the best company formation agents in the UK sell budget packages at a few pounds on top of the fee, so read the renewals, the identity checks and the bank route before you judge the price.
We are a formation company in the UK that forms the company itself, from €350 with the Companies House fee shown separately. One team runs the identity checks, documents, filing and bank file. Whether you live in the UK or abroad, you get one quote, one contact and a company ready to trade within a week.
