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Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association - Memo and Arts - Memos and Arts - Memorandum & Articles of Association - Memo & Arts - Memos & Arts - Memorandum of Association - Articles of Association – UK company formation UK – UK limited companies UK - Table A Articles

How can I obtain a suitable memorandum & articles of association (for a company to be incorporated in England, Wales or Scotland) inexpensively and quickly via the internet?
Memorandum of association

The memorandum of association of a UK company sets out the company's name, the proposed location of its registered office (i.e. 'England and Wales', 'Wales' or 'Scotland') in the UK, the objects of the company, a statement regarding the liability of its members and details of its share capital, if any, (or in the case of a UK company limited by guarantee, the amount which members will contribute in a winding up). Also, in the case of a UK company having a share capital, the memorandum of association must show the name of each initial member/shareholder (also called 'subscribers') and the number of shares each takes.

Articles of association

The articles of association (often just called 'articles') of a UK company contain the rules for its internal regulation and management. The articles of association deal with such things as meeting procedure, powers of directors, members' rights, procedure for paying dividends, winding up etc.

The articles of association can often be quite lengthy (for example they could typically comprise over 100 numbered paragraphs spanning, say 30 pages). However, the UK Companies Act 1985 contains a mechanism intended to simplify the task of preparing articles of association - various standard articles of association documents have been enacted. These are contained in regulations made under the Act - The Companies (Tables A to F) Regulations 1985. The most commonly used of these standard articles of association documents is known as 'Table A' (which is intended for use in the case of companies limited by shares). Table A may, if desired by the person(s) forming the company, be incorporated by reference (in whole or in part) into the company's own articles, thereby reducing the length of the document to be prepared.

Every UK company limited by shares (which is a far more common type of company than the company limited by guarantee or the unlimited company) is deemed to have articles of association in the form of Table A except in so far as articles are registered (i.e. lodged at Companies House) which exclude or modify Table A - section 8 of the Companies Act 1985.

It is common for UK companies to adopt the provisions of Table A in a modified format as experience has shown that Table A is rarely ideal in its unmodified form.



How can I obtain a suitable memorandum and articles of association (for a company to be incorporated in England, Wales or Scotland) inexpensively and quickly via the internet?
We are referring here to company formation websites which make the memorandum & articles of association available for you automatically via a download or email within minutes after payment of a fee. Perhaps strangely, there seem to be very few websites at all which offer this service. UKcorporator however is one such website. After completing the simple Q and A process on the website and paying the fee of £69.95 the advanced software which is a feature of the website, automatically draws up and immediately delivers to you electronically all the necessary documents (memorandum of association, articles of association, registers, consents, share certificates etc.) tailored according to your answers to UKcorporator’s questions. The articles of association are modified from the Table A format, to address issues commonly found to be unsuitable in the standard Table A articles of association.

In order to form your UK company, you may then sign (or have signed) certain of the documents and post them to, or lodge them with, UK Companies House at one of its various offices in the U.K., along with your cheque for the government filing fee (currently £20, or £50 for the Companies House same-day service). Further information about the process may be found in the FAQ’s accessible from the navigation bar at the top of this web page.

Alternatively, you may use our Electronic Lodgment Option. This option allows your incorporation documents to be lodged electronically at Companies House, rather than your having to lodge them manually (i.e. in paper form - over the counter or via the post).

Also, for information about whether your proposed company name is available, click here: Check Company Name Availability - Available Company Names.

Also, for information about the various ways of setting up a limited company in the UK, click here: How to set up a limited company in the UK.




This information has been brought to you by UKcorporator – an automated, triple award winning, online system for the creation of any type of English, Welsh or Scottish company. Click here, or on the 'Back' or 'Continue' buttons below, to go directly to the UKcorporator website home page.
 
 
 
                                 

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