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Company name meaning

What does Company name mean?
In practice, company name describes either the registered corporate name on the public register or a trading/business name used in commerce; the expression is descriptive rather than a defined statutory term. The registered name is the company’s legal identity and must appear on incorporation documents. Trading/business names do not create a separate legal person; they are governed by passing off and trade mark law and trading disclosure rules. In the UK, company names and trading disclosures are regulated by the Companies Act 2006 and the Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015, administered by Companies House. There is no separate registration of business names for companies. In Ireland, the Companies Act 2014 governs company names and the Registration of Business Names Act 1963 requires registration with the CRO if a company trades other than under its registered name. Across the UK and Ireland, name availability, “same as” and sensitive words restrictions apply; some names require approval. The registered name (including Ltd/Limited, plc/PLC, etc) must be displayed on business letters, websites and at the registered office; non‑compliance can be an offence. For precision, distinguish between registered name and business (trading) name.
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View the related Checklists about Company name

CHECKLISTS
Admitting a new LLP member: legal, regulatory and practical checklist (UK)

This checklist highlights the principal matters to review when a new individual joins a limited liability partnership (LLP), covering legal, regulatory and practical considerations. Identity of new member Full name and residential or registered address of the incoming member? Confirm the individual is not an undischarged bankrupt and is not prohibited from acting as an LLP member or as a company director. Check whether any current agreements or restrictive covenants (eg employment, LLP, joint venture, finance documents) could limit their ability to join or commit to the LLP. LLP agreement and other documentation What mechanism in the current LLP agreement governs the admission of new members? Will a deed of adherence/accession be required? Are any amendments needed to the terms of the existing LLP agreement? Do any related contracts require variation or consent, eg leases and IP licences?...

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CHECKLISTS
General Partnerships: Formation, Operation, Governance and Exit—Practitioner Checklist

Number and identity of the partners How many partners will there be, and who are they? What is each partner’s status: individual, company, another partnership, or other entity/body? Do all partners possess the requisite qualifications? Will any be salaried or fixed‑share partners? What rights and duties will they hold? Will they sign and be bound by the partnership agreement? Can new partners be brought in; if so, must they sign a deed of adherence? Is unanimous approval required to admit new partners? Business details What activities will the partnership undertake? Is it an ongoing venture or a one‑off project (or projects)? Are any regulatory consents, approvals and licences needed? What will the partnership be called; does the name clash with an existing one? Carry out searches at Companies House and the Trade Marks Registry. Will a domain be needed; check availability and register it. Where will the partnership...

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CHECKLISTS
Section 216 Insolvency Act 1986: court applications to re-use prohibited company names—service requirements and evidential checklist (England and Wales)

Who to serve and when The respondent to the application is the Official Receiver or the relevant office-holder, and accordingly the application together with the witness statement must be served on them. Under the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (IR 2016), SI 2016/1024, r 22.2, the applicant must give notice of any application for permission to use a prohibited name to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade (the Secretary of State). This notification can be made via the Insolvency Service (for postal and email address details, see Insolvency Service Guidance: Re-use of company names). Rule 22.2 of IR 2016 requires that the Secretary of State receives no less than 14 days’ notice. In practice, however, notice ought to be provided to all interested parties as far ahead of any hearing as possible, in good time, so that the Insolvency Service has sufficient time to consider the application fully with their lawyers...

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FLOWCHARTS
Changing a company's name: procedural flowchart for legal advisers

View or print a full-size PDF version:...

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NEWS
Restructuring and Insolvency highlights: register of members voting rights, Part 26A plan debriefs, bankruptcy restrictions and passport orders, directors’ misfeasance, and BBL enforcement — 29 August 2024

Restructuring & Insolvency weekly highlights—29 August 2024 In this issue: Corporate insolvency processes Restructuring Personal insolvency Directors and insolvency Daily and weekly news alerts Corporate Rescue and Insolvency (August 2024 edition) New Q&A Corporate insolvency processes Company’s register of members | Conclusive or not for voting rights? (Bland v Keegan) In proceedings relating to JDK Construction Ltd (JDK), the Court of Appeal examined a challenge to the lawfulness of a written resolution appointing joint liquidators, alongside allegations of an unauthorised share transfer form. The Appellant argued her shares in JDK were wrongfully transferred, rendering the liquidators’ appointment invalid. The key question was whether the company’s register of members—recording her shares as transferred—was determinative for validating the members’ resolution. Affirming the decision of His Honour Judge Hodge KC, the Court of Appeal held that the register stands as prima facie evidence of who the members are and of the validity of resolutions passed by them, unless...

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NEWS
England and Wales: Joined defendant cannot set aside pre-joinder service extensions under CPR 3.3(5); substitution under CPR 17.2 upheld on interests-of-justice, no-prejudice grounds

The Tintometer Ltd and other company v Pitmans (a firm) and another company [2024] EWHC 370 (Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This decision offers concrete guidance for advisers acting for a party added to ongoing proceedings and contemplating an application to set aside an order already made before its joinder. In such a scenario, a newly joined party lacks standing to apply to set aside any pre-existing order under CPR 3.3(5). The judgment also serves as a timely reminder that, when exercising its discretion to substitute a party as a defendant under CPR 17.2, the court will assess whether doing so accords with the overall interests of justice, and will properly weigh any material prospective prejudice to the proposed defendant. What was the background? The first defendant, Pitmans, sought to strike out the claimants’ professional negligence claim. The claim concerned advice given by Pitmans, then operating as a traditional unincorporated partnership, to the claimants in 2008 and 2009. In 2008, Pitmans (UK)...

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NEWS
EU General Court upholds EUIPO refusal: ‘Pablo Escobar’ trade mark contrary to public policy and accepted principles of morality

The EU General Court has affirmed a decision by the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) refusing to register Escobar’s name as a trade mark for Escobar Inc, a holding firm owned by the late Colombian drug lord’s family. It sided with the EUIPO’s Fifth Board of Appeal that, although he was never criminally convicted in Colombian, American or European courts, the Spanish public regard him as ‘an offensive symbol of organised crime causing a great deal of suffering’. The decision added that ‘the fact that Pablo Escobar had never been criminally convicted... did not prejudice the fact that, in view of the image created by literature and films, he was nevertheless perceived... as the leader of a criminal organisation responsible for numerous crimes’. Escobar Inc — a company...

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PRACTICE NOTES
Yunneng Wind Power: English Part 26A restructuring – EUR 1.7bn super-senior new money, amend and extend, creditor voting, Taiwan bankruptcy relevant alternative; sanctioned

Yunneng Wind Power Co. Limited successfully sought a Part 26A restructuring plan (RP), with the convening hearing in July 2023 and the sanction hearing in August 2023. The key points are set out below. Capitalised terms not defined here take the meanings assigned in the convening and sanction judgments. This Deal Debrief forms part of the Restructuring plans collection. For a fuller review of core metrics from RPs lodged in 2023, alongside commentary from leading figures in the restructuring sphere, see Practice Note: Market Insights Trend Report—trends in Part 26A restructuring plans in 2023 [Archived]. Name of plan company Yunneng Wind Power Co....

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PRACTICE NOTES
UKCS offshore petroleum licensing regime: NSTA powers, licence types, application and transfer procedures, levies, environmental assessments and net zero reforms

Oil & Gas—UKCS licensing regime Regulatory body Up to 2016, oversight of the UK’s oil and gas resources chiefly sat with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), acting for the Secretary of State. Following Sir Ian Wood’s review of UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) oil and gas recovery (the Wood Review), government created an independent regulator—now the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA)—to assume DECC’s licensing and regulatory duties in respect of all oil and gas exploration and production activities on the UKCS. This restructuring transferred responsibility for those matters from DECC to the new body. Until 21 March 2022 the NSTA operated under the name Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), which remains the company’s formal legal name and continues to appear in some legislation. The NSTA began taking on these roles from DECC on 1 April 2015, at first as an executive agency within DECC. The Energy Act 2016 subsequently established the NSTA as a fully independent regulator, constituted as an independent Government company, and amended the...

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PRACTICE NOTES
UK LLP Formation and Compliance: incorporation procedure, naming, fees, certificate of incorporation, PSC/register obligations, confirmation statements, central register elections, trading disclosures, and collective investment scheme issues

A limited liability partnership (LLP) A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a corporate body established under the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000 (LLPA 2000). Most rules governing LLPs derive from modified company law rather than partnership law (see Practice Note: The nature of a limited liability partnership and its legal framework). The requirements for incorporation are prescribed in the LLPA 2000 and the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006), as adapted by the Limited Liability Partnerships (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2009, SI 2009/1804 (LLP (Application of CA 2006) Regs 2009). The method for forming an LLP closely mirrors the procedure for company incorporation...

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PRECEDENTS
Brief details of claim template—section 423 Insolvency Act 1986 transactions defrauding creditors: declarations, restoration directions and costs (England and Wales and Scotland)

Brief details of claim This action is brought under section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986. The Claimant is the [ insert office held ] at [ insert name of the company ] (the Company). ...

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PRECEDENTS
Settlement agreement precedent (Scotland) for civil court or arbitration disputes, including release, agreement not to sue, confidentiality and joint minute

This Agreement is dated [ date ] Parties [ insert name of the pursuer ], a company registered in Scotland (no [ insert company number ]), whose [ registered office OR principal place of business ] is at [ insert address ] (the Pursuer) [ and ] [ ; ] [ insert name of defender ], a company registered in Scotland (no [ insert company number ]), whose [ registered office OR principal place of business ] is at [ insert address ] (the Defender). Each being a Party and, together, the Parties. Whereas (A) [ Insert details of the background to the dispute eg ‘The Parties entered into a contract for the supply of certain goods etc ]. (B) A dispute has emerged between the Parties regarding [ insert details of the dispute ] (the Dispute). (C) [ Proceedings were raised by the Pursuer against the Defender on [ date ] by way of [ Summons OR...

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PRECEDENTS
Precedent Sterling term loan facility agreement (bilateral) for single corporate borrower, with optional security and/or parent guarantee (England and Wales)

This Agreement, dated [ • ] 20[ • ], is entered into between the following parties: Parties [ insert name of Borrower ], a company incorporated in England and Wales with registered number [ insert company number ], whose registered office is at [ insert address ] (the Borrower); and [ insert name of Lender ] of [ insert address ] (the Lender). Background (A) [ insert description of background to transaction ]. (B) The Lender has agreed to provide the Facility (as defined below) to the Borrower on the terms and conditions contained in this Agreement...

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View the related Q&As about Company name

Q&As
Sole trader bank account working capital in financial remedies

In financial remedy proceedings, it is usual for one party to earn on a self-employed footing as a sole trader in practice. Instead of using a separate legal personality, for example a company acting as the primary earning vehicle and paying salary and dividends, they trade in a chosen style or their own name and settle personal income tax on profits. Business costs are set off in the ordinary manner, and accounts are normally drawn up for this very purpose. Some sole traders simply run income and outgoings through a personal bank account, while others prefer to operate from a separate, dedicated business account...

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Q&As
Official Custodian for Charities: Trust Corporation for Overreaching or Second Trustee?

A charity may hold legal title to land or property in its own name only if it is a charitable incorporated organisation or a charitable company. Land Registry Guidance Practical Guidance 14: Charities explains that the term “trust corporation” includes: the Public Trustee (who is not permitted to accept trusts for charitable purposes); a corporation appointed by the court, in any particular instance, to act as trustee; and a corporation entitled, under rules made pursuant to section 4(3) of the Public Trustee Act 1906, to act as a custodian trustee. See section 205(1)(xxix) of the Law of Property Act 1925 and section 17(1)(xxx) of the Settled Land Act 1925, and also section 3 of the Law of Property (Amendment) Act 1926...

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Q&As
Landlord Forfeiture for Rent Arrears on Bona Vacantia Lease

A company becomes dissolved (or treated as dissolved) after liquidation, administration, or its name being struck off the register by the Registrar of Companies. Once dissolved, the company ceases to have any existence. Upon dissolution, any assets and rights owned by, or held on trust for, the company immediately before dissolution are regarded as bona vacantia and pass to the Crown (or to the Duchy of Lancaster or the Duke of Cornwall if the company’s registered office was in Lancaster or Cornwall, respectively)...

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