Proprietary limited company

A proprietary company is a form of privately held company in Australia and South Africa that is either limited or unlimited. However, unlike a public company there are, depending on jurisdiction, restrictions on what it can and cannot do.

In Australia, a proprietary company is defined under section 45A(1) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

The Act puts certain restrictions on proprietary companies such as not permitting them to have more than 50 members (shareholders). Another important restriction relates to fundraising. A proprietary company must not engage in fundraising that would require a disclosure document such as a prospectus, an offer information statement, or a profile statement to be issued (sec.113(3)). The Act states in which circumstances a company must issue a prospectus when attempting to raise funds. This means that a proprietary company must not offer its shares to the public.

Section 45A of the Act also distinguishes proprietary companies as either "large proprietary" or "small proprietary". The differences here relate to issues such as operating revenue, consolidated gross assets, and the number of employed persons.

Large proprietary companies are required to appoint an auditor and lodge appropriate financial statements with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Under Australian law, a proprietary limited company (abbreviated as 'Pty Ltd') is a business structure that has at least one shareholder and up to 50, where the liability of shareholders is limited to the value of shares. Its counterparts include the public limited company (Ltd) and the Unlimited Proprietary company (Pty) with a share capital.

Under the Australian Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), a proprietary company must be either –

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