Does my ltd company name matter?

[zarf]

Hi all, about to be a first time contractor if my new contract comes through today, and I'm determined to keep in the contract/interim market! So, setting up a ltd company, I'm wondering if the name matters (apart from marketing/image considerations). The reason is this:

My wife is training to be a wedding celebrant. She also makes jewellery which she would like to start selling, mainly online. I may also do other non-IT work if need be to help pay the bills. It would make sense to minimise admin to run it all through one company, and would also help justify her shareholding with it's attendant tax advantages.

I'm therefore wondering whether this may cause me problems generally, and specifically if HMRC expect the company name to be somehow relevant to the business carried on, or at least to be generic enough to not indicate a business area.

If for example I called it "Zarf's IT Consulting Ltd" would this create a problem. You get the idea....

Thanks all

[Little'Old Me]

If for example I called it "Zarf's IT Consulting Ltd" would this create a problem. You get the idea....

Thanks all

You can call your company what you like, as long as no-one else has beaten you to it, and it does not cause confusion with another business with a simular name. You can even have several trading names which have no relation to the company name. As long as the letter head has both details - and you tell your bank they will accept payments in any name you use.

I have a client that has 2 trading names, owned by a Ltd Company using a different name. Both trading names have their own letterhead, with the trading name at the top, and the company details at the bottom. Both trading names have their own bank account - e.g.: xyz Ltd t/a abc

Why don't you drop the IT in the title - e.g. "Zarf's Consulting Ltd" - and you then don't need to have trading names - that type of company would be able to do pretty well anything, as long as the memorandum & articles of associates allows it to. This is what you need to worry about - the HMRC don't care.

[nevergoingtopay]

Does my ltd company name matter?

You can call it anything you want (there are some rules around trademarks and rude words etc)....

As long as the name you want is not in use and not too close to an existing company you can do what you like.


You are expected to tell companies house what the business of the company is via a form, but you can be generic with that too.

[zarf]

Thanks, I did indeed go for something generic.