So you’ve got a fantastic idea, you know exactly who your customers are going to be, and you’re ready to take the plunge and launch your own business in London. But how do you register a business in London?
There are some important bits and pieces that you need to get right to make sure that your business is official. But don’t worry! We’ve prepared a handy guide to help you register your business in London.
Why Do You Need to Register Your Business?
In the UK, every business has to be registered with Companies House in order to be legally recognised as a business. That means heading to the Companies House website and completing their sign-up process. It’s fairly straightforward, but it’s important you do it before you start trading!
You’ll also need to work out what kind of business you are. Are you a Sole Trader? Limited Company? Partnership? Nonprofit? There are different requirements for different businesses, so it’s important that you sign up under the right category. You can find handy definitions of all of these on the Companies House website, and if you’re not sure you can always seek their advice.
When you register your business in London with Companies House, you’ll need to provide an official address for your business. Lots of people use their home address for this – but while that’s perfectly legal, it might not be the best option. Whichever address you use will be visible and searchable on Companies House, which is a public website accessible to everyone.
That’s why a lot of entrepreneurs choose to register their business to a virtual office.
What is a Virtual Office Space?
A virtual office allows you to register your business at an address that is not your home address. For example, if you sign up to Impact Brixton’s virtual office, you’ll be able to register your business at 17a Electric Lane, London, SW9 8LA – a professional address in Brixton Village, which is a vibrant business hub in London. You’ll pay a small monthly or annual fee to use this address, and you can arrange to get all of your post forwarded to you at home. So it’s a great way to give your company a professional image without having to leave your kitchen table!
What Are the Advantages of a Virtual Office?
As well as allowing you to keep your home address private, getting a virtual office address for your business has a lot of benefits.
Using a virtual office to register your business is a small expenditure for a big reward, because it gives you that professional business address without any of the expensive overheads of renting a private office – which is a particularly big saving if you want to set your company up in a bustling business hub like London.
Registering your business at a virtual office is also a great way to boost your brand and build confidence in your company. It means that when people look up your business, they’ll see that you’re registered at a professional postcode in a location that’s known for its thriving business scene – which will make them way more likely to trust your brand and use your services.
And the benefit of using a physical space like Impact Brixton as your virtual office address is that they often come with meeting rooms that you can hire to meet your clients and check in with your team as your company continues to grow. So you can take steps to grow your business even though you don’t have your own private office yet. It’s the perfect way to create a professional image for your company!
What Do I Need to Do After I’ve Registered My Business?
Once you’ve registered your business with Companies House, and you’ve registered with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to make sure that you’re paying your taxes to the correct amount and deadline, you’re ready to start trading.
And the good news is that if you’ve registered your business with a virtual office address at a physical location (like Impact Brixton), you’re in the perfect position to grow. Because if you get to the point where you need a meeting room, a desk to work at, or even a whole private office, you can pick up a flexible membership that allows you to use the space – and there’ll be no need to change your details with Companies House.
Thinking About Registering Your Business at a Virtual Office Space?
You can find out everything you need to know on our virtual office page. It’ll give you all the information on our virtual office and business registry packages, and there are a ton of FAQs you can check out to see if getting a virtual office is the right option for you.
And if you like the sound of Impact Brixton but you want to scope it out in person first, you are more than welcome to pop in for a tour of our space in Brixton! Our friendly host managers will show you around and answer any questions you may have about our workspace, events and virtual office services. They can also talk you through how to get a virtual office address with us. Just email us at hosts@impactbrixton.com to book your tour.
