Re: FN-FORUM: Setting up a joint ownership company

date posted 1st October 2007 18:13

On Monday 01 October 2007, James Herrington wrote:
> >I do hope you mean *private* limited company...
>
> To be honest I don't really know the difference between a public
> limited and private limited company. It was suggested to me that we use
> a public limited company so this is what I've been looking into. What is
> the difference between public and private?

A public limited company (PLC) requires at least =A350,000 in share capital=
(of=20
which at least =A312,500 must be paid up) in addition to the other requirem=
ents=20
(2 directors, 2 shareholders, various certificates and much tighter=20
regulations). But it does allow your companies shares to be traded on stock=
=20
exchanges if you so choose.

A private limited company (LTD), on the other hand, now requires just a sin=
gle=20
director (no separate secretary is needed) and a minimum of =A31 in share=20
capital IIRC. They're also trivial to set up and will cost about =A330 to d=
o=20
so.

So unless you or your investors have =A312,500 up front and don't mind deal=
ing=20
with the extra paperwork, it's probably best to go with a private limited=20
company. But do have a chat with an accountant before you proceed.

Neil