Companies Act 2006
The Companies Act 2006 introduced several provisions which will affect the process of setting up a UK company. The changes have been introduced largely to reflect the increase in electronic company formation and the rise in incidences of single director and shareholder controlled companies.
The consensus amongst various commentators is that the Companies Act 2006 not only simplifies the requirements for registering a company, it also reduces the burden on the directors once they are running the company.
Significant Changes of the CA2006
The significant areas of change to setting up a company brought in by the 2006 Act are as follows:
1. The abolition of companies acting a single director of another company
2. The definition of directors contractual obligations towards the company
3. Codification of Companies House rules on similar company names
4. Increased disclosure of a company’s name
5. Increased means of communicating with other parties
6. Relaxing of the rules for companies AGM
7. Changes to the filing deadlines for companies
8. Simplified memorandum of association
9. Abolition of authorised share capital
10. Power of directors to issue a new class of shares
11. The age of a company director
12. Directors can keep residential addresses private
13. Companies no longer required to have a secretary
14. Public accessibility of statutory records and books
Taking Effect in October 2008
Whilst the main provisions of the Companies Act 2006 will not take effect until October 2008, parts of the act came in to force in January 2007.
