Company limited by shares

A private company limited by shares is a class of private limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, Scotland, certain Commonwealth countries or the Republic of Ireland. It has shareholders with limited liability and its shares may not be offered to the general public, unlike those of a public limited company (plc).

"Limited by shares" means that the liability of the shareholders to creditors of the company is limited to the capital originally invested, i.e. the nominal value of the shares and any premium paid in return for the issue of the shares by the company. A shareholder's personal assets are thus protected in the event of the company's insolvency, but any money invested in the company may be lost.

A limited company may be "private" or "public". A private limited company's disclosure requirements are lighter, but its shares may not be offered to the general public and therefore cannot be traded on a public . This is the major difference between a private limited company and a public limited company. Most companies, particularly small companies, are private.

Private companies limited by shares are usually required to have the suffix "Limited" (often written "Ltd" or "Ltd.") or "Incorporated" ("Inc.") as part of their name, though the latter cannot be used in the UK or the Republic of Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland "Teoranta" ("Teo.") may be used instead, largely by Gaeltacht companies. "Cyfyngedig" ("Cyf.") may be used by Welsh companies in a similar fashion.

In the United Kingdom, every company must have formally appointed company officers. By statute, a private company must have at least one director and until April 2008 also had to have a secretary. The company's articles of association may require more than one director. At least one director must be an individual, not another company.

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