Following the Government's Red Tape Challenge, The Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015 (the Regulations) came into force on 31 January 2015, revoking and replacing the current regulations relating to company and LLP names and trading disclosures.
The Regulations introduce modifications relating to names and business disclosures including:
- extending the list of characters that can be used in a company name -- currently businesses can only pick from the Roman alphabet and a few additional characters;
- changes to the rules concerning how to deal with company names which may be considered the same;
- reducing the list of words and expressions to be ignored when considering whether names are the same; and
- requiring that where six or more companies operate from one location, they will no longer have to ensure that each company's name is displayed continuously, instead being required to ensure that the information is available for anyone who wishes to see it.
The Regulations also restate the position under the now revoked Companies (Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2008 that companies must disclose the following information in business letters, order forms and on their website:
- the part of the UK in which it is registered
- its registered number;
- its registered office;
- in the case of a limited company exempt from the obligation to use the word "limited" as part of its name, the fact that it is a limited company;
- in the case of a community interest company which is not a public company, the fact that it is a limited company;
- in the case of an investment company, the fact that it is such a company; and
- where the name of a director is included (other than in the text or as a signatory) the name of every director must be disclosed.
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