Limited company

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Business law

Business organizations
Basic forms:
Sole proprietorship
Corporation
Partnership (General · Limited · LLP)
Cooperative
USA:
Business trust · LLC · LLLP Series LLC Delaware corporation Nevada corporation
Commonwealth/Ireland/UK:
Limited company (By shares · By guarantee) (Public · Proprietary)
Civil law countries:
AB · AG · ANS · A/S · A/S
K.K. · N.V. · OY · S.A. · GmbH
European Company Statute
Doctrines
Corporate governance
Limited liability · Ultra vires
Business judgment rule
De facto corporation and corporation by estoppel
Piercing the corporate veil
Related areas of law
Contract · Civil procedure

A limited company in the United Kingdom is a corporation whose liability is limited by law (U.S. law, English law, Scots law etc.). There are three main types of limited companies which are set up by the Memorandum of Association & Articles of Association:

private company limited by shares (Ltd.)

Similar to Pty. Ltd.
private company limited by guarantee

These companies do not have share capital but are guaranteed by its "members", who agree to pay a fixed amount in the event of the company's liquidation. Frequently charities incorporate using this form of limited liability. Another interesting example is the Financial Services Authority.
public limited company (PLC).

Public limited companies by shares (plc) (similar to the U.S. Corporation and the German AG) offer several advantages over trading as sole trader (e.g. Unlimited liability).

As a shareholder in a limited company, if it were to become insolvent (equivalent to bankruptcy in the US) you would only be liable to contribute the amount remaining unpaid on the shares (usually zero, as most shares are issued fully paid). 'Paid' here relates to the amount paid to the company for the shares on first issue, and shouldn't be confused with amounts paid by one shareholder to another to transfer ownership of shares between them. Being a shareholder means you have limited liability.

A limited company can be registered in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. The registration of companies in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) is done through Companies House. The registration of companies in Northern Ireland is done through the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment.