Directors, Secretaries, Shareholders and PSCs

Directors, secretaries, shareholders and Persons of Significant Control (PSC) are the four types of personnel that make up a limited company. They each play a different role and carry a varying degree of responsibility. In many cases an individual will fulfill more than one role for example director and secretary or director and shareholder etc . Any of these roles can also be assigned to a corporate body under the authorisation of an officer from the associated company. Below is a brief description of each of the four roles:

Director

The board of directors are responsible for the day to day duties involved in running the company and ensuring it meets its responsibilities and deadlines. Every company director has a personal responsibility to ensure that statutory documents are delivered to Companies House as and when required. A director does not have to reside in the UK , however they must be over the age of 16 and not be an undischarged bankrupt.

Secretary

The secretary predominantly plays an administrative role in the company and ensures that the statutory register is maintained in good order as well as ensuring the responsibilities of the company are fulfilled. Again a secretary must be over the age of 16 but does not have to reside in the UK. As of the 6th of April 2008 it is no longer a statutory requirement for a private limited company to have a company secretary.

Shareholder

Shareholders are the individuals or corporate bodies who collectively own the company and enjoy the power to vote on many issues. The voting rights and extent of ownership is determined by the percentage of issued shares that they own. Shareholders can receive income from the company by way of dividends derived from quarterly or yearly profits.

People with Significant Control

Since 2016 all newly incorporated companies are required to disclose their People with Significant Control (PSCs). A PSC is somebody within your company who will exercise significant control over key decision making matters. Any shareholder with over 25% of the issued capital will automatically become a PSC, other provisions exist for those holding over 25% of the voting rights or powers to appoint and resign directors, these individuals or corporate bodies will also need to be registered as a PSC.

Corporate appointments that are situated outside of the UK, where there is no regime for registering PSCs will need to determine those individuals behind the company holding a majority steak in that company. These individuals must be entered separately on your application as a PSC for the new company.

You can find out more about People with Significant Control here.

Directors, Secretaries, Shareholders and PSCs

Director

Secretary

Shareholder

People with Significant Control

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