Why do companies change names?
People change the company name for many reasons. These are just a few common examples-
- They may have purchased a readymade company and would prefer a more suitable name.
- There may have been an error at the time of incorporation. It is unfortunate but we see several company names registered every year with typos.
- Some customers prefer their company name to have Limited (in full), Ltd (abbreviated) Ltd. (abbreviated and punctuated) and in the case of not for profit companies they may remove the word limited from their company name under section 60 of The Companies Act 2006.
- Companies may find that their field of expertise changes over the years. Consider the Carphone Warehouse. It is unlikely that they sell any phones that are solely for use in cars. They may at some point choose to re-brand the company and may change the company’s registered name. We see many businesses change their incorporated name because it no longer portrays the right image.
- The business may be sold to new owners that would prefer a new company name.
- Company mergers and acquisitions often result in a name changes being required.