A company may want to change its registered name for any reason such as re-branding, to improve or change their image, or to enable a new owner to make his mark on the company. A company can also be obliged to change its name by Companies House (on behalf of the secretary of state) or a new company names adjudicator.

Changing the registered company name must not be confused with simply operating under a different trading name. The reason for this is that the company’s registered name must be displayed on all corporate documents, websites and signs at their premises.

Further to this, changing the registered name will not alter its ‘legal personality’ and it will retain the unique company registration number which allows third parties to trace the same company through name changes. It also means you cannot change the words indicating what type of company it is, known as the status, (For example from “123 Foods Ltd” to “123 Foods plc”). In these examples, changing from an ‘Ltd’ to a ‘Plc’ requires a change in status of the company.

Once those points have been considered you can move on to registering the change. To do this:

• Your company must pass a special resolution at a general meeting (Passed by 75% of those members entitled to a vote); or
• Your company must pass a special written resolution that the name of the company be changed to the new name; and
• A signed copy of the resolution(s) should then be sent to Companies House, together with the fee and required form

Rather than passing a special resolution companies will be able to change their names following any alternate procedure set out in their articles of association. However they will still have to file a notice of the name change and a statement that the change has been made in accordance with the companies articles at Companies House.

If you would like to change your company name Wisteria Formations can assist you with the process and will provide, complete and file the application to Companies House for a fee of just £50 + VAT. Or to start your company formation now, please follow the link below. To find out more please email formations@wisteria.co.uk or call our support team on 0844 893 0808 and they will respond shortly.

https://www.wisteriaformations.co.uk/uk_company_registration.