Formations Direct, like many other businesses, has implemented processes for our staff to Work from Home. We will endeavour to continue to provide the range of services that you are accustomed to, but some services have become unavailable or limited due to COVID-19. Please read on for Companies House, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and our own office updates:

Companies House Update

Companies House has also implemented Work from Home measures and we can still form companies as per usual, with the exception of the same day service, which is unavailable until further notice.

Companies House have also just announced that as of 25th March 2020, businesses will be able to apply for a 3-month extension on filing their accounts. All companies who apply for an extension as a result of COVID-19 will automatically be granted the extension without needing to provide evidence. Further information can be found here.

Apostille & Legalisation Services

We are currently unable to provide Apostille and Legalisation services as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has stopped legalising documents as from the Prime Minister’s speech of the 23^rd March 2020.

Formations Formations Direct Service Update

We will continue to provide our company services as per usual however we ask for your understanding and support with the following.

• Hard copy documents may take longer than usual to be received in the post; please make us aware at the time of placing an order if anything is particularly urgent, or if you would like digital copies.
• Please email queries, rather than phone, to the relevant department where possible, and your contact will respond as soon as possible.

We will continue to update you should any of our services change, in particular where we are dependent on Companies House.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you need advice on any of our services.

We sincerely hope you are keeping well in this disquieting time.

Kind Regards

Marc Labelda
Divisional Managing Director

Are your clients preparing to file their annual accounts to HMRC and Companies House before the end of the financial year?

If yes, your clients’ might be considering paying dividends to shareholders i.e. employees or family members to reward this group of shareholders. To accomplish this your clients will need to have implemented alphabet shares within their articles of association.

Alphabet Shares

One way to do this is with alphabet shares, which allow your clients to allocate shares with different classes to shareholders which are recognisable by a specific letter e.g. A Ordinary share, B Ordinary share etc. These shares are most commonly used to pay different amounts of dividends to shareholders.

However, clients who want to pay dividends to shareholders with Alphabet shares will need to ensure their articles of association contain the correct provisions which identify the rights attached to each different class of share. If the correct provisions are not in place in your client’s articles each different class of share will be ranked equally.

This is where Formations Direct company secretarial team can help amend and redraft your client’s company articles of association.

With a wealth of experience spanning over 40 years and working with not only accounting firms but law firms, you can trust in our expertise and competitive pricing to provide your clients with the best bespoke company secretarial service on the market.

If you or your clients have any questions about paying dividends to shareholders or amending articles of association contact our qualified company secretarial team and a member of our talented team will be on hand to guarantee you have all the support you require to satisfy your client’s needs.

Contact our secretarial team today on 0800 085 45 05 or email our team here.