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Shares and the Statement of Capital

Shares and the Statement of Capital

Shares

A company's capital divides into equal units of ownership known as shares. The number of shares held in a company indicates the total stake that a shareholder has in that company.

Statement of capital

In order to register a company, Companies House requires a Statement of Capital. Our online system submits this when you make your application.

The Statement of Capital gives the following information:

  • The number of Shares issued: This can be any amount but is always whole numbers.
  • The currency in which the shares are denominated: The Companies Acts allow shares to be issued in Euros, Dollars or any other currency the directors think appropriate. However, it is very unusual to have shares issued in any currency other than British Pounds (£). Our online application will only deal with £s.
  • The nominal value of each share: This is the amount payable to the Company for each share. The value can be anything from 1p upwards. The vast majority of companies issue shares with a nominal value of £1
  • The Classes of shares issued: When a company issues shares it gives the holders of those shares rights. So each holder of shares in a given class has equal rights. Companies can issue many classes of shares to suit their needs. The majority of Companies issue one class of shares only.

We set out below a Sample Statements of Capital:

Class of Shares e.g. Ordinary, Preference etc. Amount paid up on each share Amount (if any) unpaid on each share Number of shares Aggregate nominal value
A ordinary shares £1 0 100 £100
B ordinary shares £1 0 1000 £1000