The use of nominees involves employing third parties to act in the role of company director, secretary and / or shareholder.
It is typical for the provider of nominee services not to have an actual role in the running of the business but to hold a position in the company in name only.
Many UK company formation agents offer nominees in their incorporation packages, which, by paying an additional sum, a person can elect to have the agent’s act as one or more of its company officers.
Benefits of Using Nominees
One of the primary benefits of using nominees is that it can provide person setting up and running the company with anonymity. The degree to which this is true would depend on whether the person chooses to use a nominee director, secretary and subscriber in all of the relevant positions.
Companies House maintains a record of each company officer and the capacity in which they act for a particular business. In situations where nominees are used, it is their names which are shown and not the details of the person who has purchased their services.
Another potential advantage of using nominees is that they can be used to satisfy the legal requirements to have at least one director, secretary and shareholder.
It is sometimes the case that a person who is registering a company is not able to find another party to be the company secretary. In such circumstances, using a nominee for that position would allow the company formation to go ahead.
