Company secretarial handled properly — so nothing slips through
Every limited company in the UK has ongoing legal obligations to Companies House that exist regardless of whether the business is actively trading. Miss a filing, fail to update a register, or appoint a director incorrectly and the consequences range from automatic penalties to the involuntary striking off of your company. Hulljady Chartered Accountants manages your company secretarial obligations completely — so you never have to think about them.
WHAT WE DO
Company secretarial services for UK limited companies
From routine annual filings to complex share restructurings, Hulljady provides a comprehensive company secretarial service that ensures your company is always fully compliant with its legal obligations.
Confirmation Statement Filing
The confirmation statement — formerly the annual return — must be filed at Companies House every year within 14 days of its due date. We prepare and submit your confirmation statement on time, every year, ensuring the information held about your company is accurate and up to date.
VAT Registration & DeregistrationStatutory Register Maintenance
Every limited company must maintain a set of statutory registers — register of members, register of directors, register of persons with significant control, register of charges, and others. We maintain these on your behalf, update them whenever a change occurs, and ensure they are available for inspection if required.
Director & Secretary Appointments and ResignationsMaking Tax Digital (MTD) Setup
Appointments and resignations of directors and company secretaries must be notified to Companies House within 14 days using the correct forms. We handle all notifications promptly and update the statutory registers simultaneously.
Share Allotments & Transfer
New share allotments — whether to bring in an investor, reward an employee, or restructure ownership — and transfers of existing shares between parties must be correctly documented, filed at Companies House, and reflected in the register of members. We manage the entire process including stock transfer forms, board minutes, and updated share certificates.
Registered Office Address
We provide a professional registered office address at our practice — keeping your home or trading address off the public Companies House register. All statutory correspondence received at the address is forwarded to you promptly and monitored for anything requiring urgent attention.
Changes to Company Details
Any change to your company's name, registered office, accounting reference date, or articles of association must be notified to Companies House using the correct procedure. We handle all notifications, prepare the necessary board or shareholder resolutions, and file the appropriate forms.
People with Significant Control (PSC) Register Every company must maintain a register of persons with significant control and file PSC information at Companies House. Changes must be notified promptly.
KEY FIGURES
KEY DEADLINES & PENALTIES
Companies House deadlines you cannot afford to miss
Unlike HMRC deadlines — which can sometimes be mitigated with a reasonable excuse — Companies House penalties are largely automatic and non-negotiable. The only reliable strategy is never to be late.
14 days — Director appointment or resignation Any change to your company’s directors must be notified to Companies House within 14 days of the change taking place. Late notification does not invalidate the appointment but does expose the company and its officers to prosecution.
14 days — Confirmation statement due date Once your confirmation statement is due, you have 14 days to file it. Miss this deadline and Companies House will begin the process of striking your company off the register — which can happen within weeks.
9 months — Private company accounts deadline Private limited companies must file their accounts at Companies House within nine months of their accounting reference date. The first penalty for late accounts is £150, rising to £1,500 for accounts more than six months late. Repeat lateness doubles the penalties.
£150 to £1,500 — Late accounts penalty range The penalty for late filing of accounts at Companies House ranges from £150 for accounts up to one month late to £1,500 for accounts more than six months late. A company that files late two years in a row pays double these amounts.
Note: Companies House has significantly increased its enforcement activity in recent years and is actively pursuing directors of companies with persistent filing failures. Hulljady’s proactive reminder and filing system means none of our clients have ever received a Companies House penalty for a late filing.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why company secretarial compliance matters more than most directors realise
Company secretarial is the area of compliance that most business owners know the least about and pay the least attention to — until something goes wrong. By then, the cost of putting it right is always higher than the cost of getting it right in the first place.
Legal standing — Protected
Your company's legal standing depends on its records at Companies House being accurate and current. Inaccurate filings, missing officers, or an out-of-date registered office can all create problems when you need your company to function — in a sale, a finance application, or a legal dispute.
Director obligations — Met
Directors have personal legal duties under the Companies Act 2006 that cannot be delegated. What can be delegated is the administrative work of meeting them. Hulljady ensures every filing obligation is met on time and every statutory record is maintained accurately — so directors can focus on running the business.
Penalties — Avoided
Companies House imposes automatic financial penalties for late accounts and confirmation statements. Persistent non-compliance results in the company being struck off the register — which can happen without warning and is far more disruptive and expensive to reverse than it was to prevent.
Credibility — Maintained
Banks, investors, suppliers, and customers increasingly check Companies House records before entering into significant relationships. Accurate, current filings project professionalism and reliability. Gaps or inaccuracies raise questions you do not want to be answering.
Unlike a standalone company secretarial service, Hulljady connects your statutory filings to your accountancy and tax work. Share allotments are reflected in your accounts. Director changes are coordinated with your payroll. Registered office correspondence is monitored and acted on.
Everything is joined up.
WHY HULLJADY
Company secretarial that connects to your whole business
Standalone company secretarial services file the forms and move on. At Hulljady, your company secretarial work is handled by the same team that prepares your accounts, manages your tax, and advises on your financial planning. That means corporate changes are never made in isolation — they are always considered in the context of your tax position, your shareholder agreements, and your long-term plans.
A share transfer has tax implications. A director resignation may affect your payroll. A change to your accounting reference date will alter your corporation tax payment deadlines. These connections matter — and they are only visible when the same firm is looking at the whole picture.
- Proactive deadline management — we come to you, you do not need to chase us
- Every filing checked by a qualified chartered accountant before submission
- Corporate changes coordinated with your accountancy and tax work
- Statutory registers maintained in real time — not updated retrospectively at year-end
- Registered office correspondence monitored and actioned promptly
- Fixed annual fee — no per-filing surprises
COMMON QUESTIONS
Company secretarial — frequently asked questions
Does every limited company need a company secretary?
Since the Companies Act 2006, private limited companies are no longer legally required to appoint a company secretary. However, the company secretarial obligations themselves — filing confirmation statements, maintaining statutory registers, notifying Companies House of changes — have not gone away. They still need to be carried out, whether by a director, an employee, or an outsourced professional. Hulljady fills this role for the companies it works with, ensuring every obligation is met without a formal appointment being necessary.
What happens if my company is struck off the register?
If Companies House strikes your company off — either because you failed to file your confirmation statement or accounts, or because you applied for voluntary striking off — the company ceases to exist as a legal entity. Any assets held by the company at the point of striking off pass to the Crown as bona vacantia. Banking facilities are frozen. Contracts become unenforceable. Restoring a struck-off company is possible but involves a court application or administrative restoration process, costs significantly more than maintaining compliance in the first place, and can take months. Hulljady's proactive filing system is designed specifically to ensure this never happens to our clients.
What is a person with significant control and do I need to register one?
A person with significant control (PSC) is broadly any individual who holds more than 25% of the shares or voting rights in a company, has the right to appoint or remove the majority of directors, or otherwise exercises significant influence or control. Every limited company must maintain a PSC register and file PSC information at Companies House. Failure to do so is a criminal offence for both the company and its officers. Hulljady maintains the PSC register for every company under our secretarial management and files all required notifications as changes occur.
How do I transfer shares in my limited company?
A share transfer requires a stock transfer form to be completed and executed by both parties, any applicable stamp duty to be paid to HMRC where the consideration exceeds £1,000, the register of members to be updated, and new share certificates to be issued. Where the transfer involves a change in the balance of ownership between shareholders, it may also have tax implications — particularly if the transfer is between connected parties or takes place at below-market value. Hulljady manages the entire process and ensures the tax implications are considered alongside the administrative steps.
What is a confirmation statement and how is it different from annual accounts?
A confirmation statement is a snapshot of your company's key information — directors, shareholders, registered office, share capital, SIC code — confirming to Companies House that it is accurate as at a specific date. It is not a financial document and does not include accounts. Annual accounts, by contrast, are financial statements showing your company's trading performance and financial position over the year. Both are required annually but are completely separate filings with different deadlines, different content, and different consequences for late submission.
Can I change my company's name and what does it involve?
Yes — a private limited company can change its name by passing a special resolution of the shareholders (requiring 75% of votes) or, if the articles permit, by ordinary resolution or even by board resolution in some circumstances. Once passed, the new name must be registered at Companies House using form NM01 and the prescribed fee. Companies House issues a certificate of incorporation on change of name, which is the legal confirmation that the change has taken effect. Trading under a new name before the certificate is issued is not advisable. Hulljady prepares the resolution, files the form, and updates the statutory registers to reflect the change.
READY TO GET STARTED?
Your company's legal obligations don't take a day off. Neither do we.
Book a free, no-obligation consultation with one of our chartered accountants. We will review your current Companies House record, identify any gaps or outstanding obligations, and give you a fixed-price quote for taking company secretarial completely off your plate.