adding shareholders

Adding a new shareholder to a UK company.

In the UK, a Limited Company can add further shareholders at any time during the life of the company assuming there are no restrictions to this detailed in the Articles of Association. New shares may usually be issued to new or existing shareholders. You can issue the same type of share, with the same value, or create a new class of share with new rights and a new value.

If you want to add a new shareholder, without transferring existing shares from one person to another, you simply need to complete form SH01. This Companies House form records the shares that are being issued.

Under the Companies Act 2006 companies no longer have an ‘authorised share capital’ that consists of shares that have not been issued. More information on the difference between issued shares and authorised share capital can be found on our website.

Company Formation

£2800
  • Full company documents

Example of issuing new shares!

The following information is an example of how a company may issue new shares.

Your company has an existing issued share capital of 100 x £1 shares
There are currently two share holders holding 50 x £1 shares each = 100 x £1 shares
You want to add a third shareholder with an equal share holding

Complete form SH01 issuing an additional 50 shares to the new shareholder. Record the issue of shares on a written resolution or company minutes for your own company records. You will also need to update your company registers with the new shareholders details. Send form SH01 (keep a photocopy for your records) to Companies House or complete the form online.

The company now has 3 shareholders holding 50 x £1 shares each. A total of 150 x £1 shares will now be in existence.

Form SH01 can be completed online or you can submit a paper version. The online version is a lot more simple to complete. You can find an informative guide on completing form SH01 on our website.

We can issue new shares for you.

We are pleased to assist many companies with restructuring their shares. filing form SH01 online, we will also prepare minutes and new share certificates for you.Contact us for a quote.