UK Starting Business

Many believe that the quieter business periods brought about by the currently economic problems are an excuse to waste time, ring their hands in despair, blame the Government and then sit quietly playing the latest computer game on their PC.

A ringing phone and communication from a perspective customer becomes an annoyance as they were just about to slay the dragon and kiss the princess on their computer screens.

Not so at my office, we are busier than ever, not with customers but with preparing the groundwork for when business picks up. Accepting the current economic climate and seeing a recession drawing ever closer prevents opportunities to do all the things that in the past which you could not do because you were too busy servicing clients.

Not everything costs a lot of money either. The launching or redesign of a new or existing website, the physical reorganisation of the office or even just throwing out the old box of paper you thought you might use three years ago but are still sitting their.

The motivational aspects of using quiet trading periods for constructive projects are enormous. When we can not to bed happy because we have had good days sales, we can retire instead knowing that we are not wasting time and that the business has moved forward in some way.

One factor about quieter business periods which does waste time and energy is when other companies panic and phone up every person they have access to. Talking phone calls where the person offers you something you have absolutely no interest in is frustrating.

This is particularly so when their suggested product or service involves spending large amounts of money which nobody has in a recession or embarking on discretionary expenditure which everyone is cutting back on.

Memory can not provide an occasion in the last three weeks where the person on the other end of the phone offered a cheaper version of what they were normally selling for.

In essence, caring for a business, one for which the owner has taken risks, made sacrifices and has seen grow from nothing to something does not afford the luxury of wasting time.

Having a mature outlook does entail taking the rough with the smooth and accepting that outside influences can cause slow periods of trade. There are those who will use this as an excuse to waste time and procrastinate and there are those who will plough on and continue to fill their days with measureable accomplishments.

The remit was to carry out research on the subject of whether it would be possible to run a type of lottery with a skills based question and thereby exempt a UK company from having to obtain a lottery licence.

We visited multiple websites and also made contact with the UK Law Society and spoke to three solicitors’ practices that are said to be conversant in gambling, lottery and licensing regulations in the UK.

The information and views received from the above on the subject matter were consistent and therefore I feel that the information is correct.

By running a lottery/competition but making entry subject to successfully answering or completing a skills based question or challenge, the activity would not fall within the scope of a lottery and therefore a licence would not be required.

The definition of what constitutes a skills based question or task is that the challenge must be such that it could reasonably be expected that some entrants would not succeed in correctly answering or completing the challenge.

There is no statutory or legal rule which defines what percentage of or how many people should normally fail the test in order for it to be deeded to be a skills based challenge.

I was advised that by seeking the advice of a Solicitor it would demonstrate in itself that legal advice had been sought and this would bode well for the company if the competition was even challenged.

If a Solicitor was used to discuss the matter and the specific proposals of a venture, they would be able to advise on the details in the light of their knowledge and current regulations.

The following websites provide additional information:

• http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk
• http://www.lacors.gov.uk/lacors/home.aspx
• http://www.culture.gov.uk
• http://www.out-law.com/
• http://lotteriescouncil.org.uk/
• http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/lottery-laws-face-sweeping-reforms-to-open-up-chances-for-competitors-702937.html

I hope that the information proves useful to a future decision.

There are many third party registered office facilities on offer whereby they allow a limited company to make use of their address. They then promise to forward all post from Companies House and Revenue and Customs to the director’s home residence, usually at no additional cost.

There are both advantages and disadvantages of using third party registered offices both at the time of the formation of a company or at a later date when the business has been in existence for some time.

One of the much talked about benefits of not using a home residence for this purpose is that of protecting the location of where the director or owner lives. This is not really an effective mechanism for hiding the owner’s residential address as currently, they are required by law to disclose this location when they are appointed as director, secretary or shareholder.

Thus, their residence can be found by this means and the fact that the registered office may be housed in another location will not disguise this fact.

Until the Companies Act 2006 provision takes effect, which allows company officers to hide their residential addresses, the protection afforded by third party facilities purporting to keep home location secret is a thin argument.

Prestige and impression is another commonly mentioned advantage of subscribing to outside registered office services. This benefit is a little more substantial as a company registered office located in say Central London and displayed on the business’ website and letterheads is likely to be viewed as more graceful than if 14 Fraser Close was shown instead.

One potential disadvantage of using a third party registered office address is that it adds one more cog in the company’s chain of receiving their Companies House and Revenue and Customs post. Instead of going straight from the Government department to the director, it goes firstly to the third party who then hopefully accurately dispatches it to its intended recipient.

Another factor which can influence the likelihood of mail being received at it final destination is the forwarding strategy adopted by the registered office providers. Most such facilities are offered by company formation agents, some of whom have differing policies toward the forwarding of statutory mail.

The Royal Mail states that when an item of post has been sent and received at its intended destination, i.e. the third party registered office, any further redirecting of that item must carry the required postage to the eventual recipient.

So the mere placing of a new address label on the letter and re-posting it without applying additional stamps may result in a charge (the proper postage plus a penalty) being levied on the director when it is delivered.

Some company formation providers do apply additional postage for the journey from their offices to the director’s home address whereas others do not. The service offered by this latter category may not be as effective as that which is provided by the first.

The good aspects of statutory post are that many of the tasks which traditionally used to be completed via paper forms are now available online. Hence the transfer of communications from Companies House and Revenue and Customs by means of physical mail is becoming less crucial in business operations.

Whilst the transition from paper to online correspondence is becoming more commonplace, it should also be noted that any letters sent by these two government departments can be re-requested. Also, given the timely nature at which most communications are despatched, there is usually sufficient time for copies of documents to be resent without the deadline of their submission passing.

Using third party registered office facilities can benefit those who wish to register a company by elevating there perceived status to a well known address location. An awareness of when certain post is due to be received from the Government departments may help both the tracking and the eventual receipt of all post which forms part of the relaying service.