Buying an off-the-shelf (ready-made) company means taking over a company that is already registered at Companies House and has been kept dormant, so you can start trading almost immediately rather than waiting on a fresh incorporation. The sequence is short: choose a genuinely dormant company, transfer the shares and appoint the new director(s), verify your identity at Companies House, then update the registered office, SIC codes and accounting date. After that you register for Corporation Tax — and PAYE or VAT if you need them — and open a business bank account. It is worth it when you genuinely need to trade now or want an earlier incorporation date. Be honest with yourself, though: a brand-new company costs £100 and is usually registered within 24 hours, so for many directors forming fresh is simpler and cheaper. Here is exactly how the purchase works, and when it is the right call.
The £100 formation fee is from gov.uk; off-the-shelf prices are commercial and vary by provider. General guidance, not advice.
What exactly are you buying?
An off-the-shelf company is a company that was registered at Companies House and then left dormant — set up but never traded. Because it has never done business, a genuinely dormant one carries no debts, no charges and a clean (if very short) filing history. What you take over is the legal shell: the certificate of incorporation, the company number and an incorporation date that already exists. You do not get customers, contracts, turnover or a credit file — those only come from actually trading, whatever a sales page implies. For the full definition and where it fits, see our guide to what an off-the-shelf company is.
Step by step: how to buy and take over a ready-made company
Taking over a ready-made company is a genuine sequence of steps, and the order matters — you confirm what you are buying, move ownership and control to yourself, prove who you are, then make the company yours on the register and with HMRC. Here is how it runs:
Choose a genuinely dormant company. Confirm on the public register that it has never traded — dormant accounts only, no charges, no outstanding filings. A provider should hand you the incorporation certificate and company number up front.
Transfer the shares and appoint the new director(s). Ownership moves to you when you transfer shares from the current subscriber, and control moves when you are appointed director (and named as a person with significant control). The former director resigns.
Verify your identity at Companies House. Every new director and PSC must now verify their identity — see our guide to Companies House identity verification for directors. You will need a Companies House personal code before the appointment can complete.
Update the registered office, SIC codes and accounting date. Change the registered office to your address, set the SIC code(s) to what you will actually do, and, if it suits your year-end, change the accounting reference date.
Register for Corporation Tax — and PAYE and VAT if you need them. Once the company starts trading, tell HMRC so it is active for Corporation Tax; register for PAYE if you will run a payroll, and for VAT if you must (or choose to).
Open a business bank account. Trading properly means company money kept separate from your own, so open a business account in the company's name.
Ready to take over a genuinely dormant company and start trading this week rather than next month? Our off-the-shelf company service can match you to a clean one and handle the share transfer and appointments.
Is it worth it — or should you just form a new company?
For most people, the honest answer is that a fresh company does the job. Registering a brand-new limited company online costs £100 and is usually done within 24 hours (gov.uk), so the speed advantage a ready-made company once held has largely gone. It still earns its place in a few genuine situations: you need a company registered today because a client, tender or supplier requires one before you can be onboarded, or a specific requirement calls for an incorporation date that already exists. An older date on its own, though, buys very little — it does not create trading history or credit.
Off-the-shelf company
Fresh formation
Cost
Commercial/indicative (varies)
£100
Speed to a company
Same day, ready to take over
~24 hours
Incorporation date
Already exists
Today's date
Best when
You need one now or an existing date
Almost everyone else
We sell off-the-shelf companies, and we still tell plenty of people a £100 fresh formation is the better buy — the honest fit is narrower than most sales pages suggest. If you are weighing the two, our comparison of off-the-shelf versus a new company formation sets out each side, and our guide to how to set up a limited company walks through forming fresh.
Still deciding whether a ready-made company or a fresh formation fits your plans? Our free limited company guide walks through setting up either way, so you can choose before you spend.
Before you pay for any ready-made company, confirm it is genuinely dormant and clean. The Companies House register is public, so you can look up any company yourself and read its filing history for free (gov.uk). Check that the accounts filed are dormant accounts, that there are no mortgages or charges registered against it, that there are no overdue filings or penalties, and that the share structure is what you expect (usually a single subscriber share). If anything on the record is unclear, treat it as a reason to walk away rather than a detail to sort out later. A good provider — and the accountant we can match you with — will run these checks with you and hand over clean paperwork.
Our honest take
An off-the-shelf company is a shortcut, not a head start: it puts a clean, ready-registered shell in your hands, but the trading, the reputation and the credit are still yours to build from day one. Buy one when you genuinely need to move now — and skip it when £100 and a day would have done. If you want a straight answer on which is right for you, and the option you choose set up correctly, we can point you the right way; you can also browse our off-the-shelf companies service to see how it works.
Not sure whether to buy a ready-made company or form fresh — and want it set up right the first time? Tell us what you are trying to do and we will match you to the honest option and handle the paperwork.
How do I buy a ready-made company?
Choose a genuinely dormant company, then transfer the shares to yourself and appoint yourself (and any co-directors) in place of the original director. You verify your identity at Companies House, update the registered office, SIC codes and accounting date, and register for Corporation Tax — plus PAYE and VAT if you need them. Finally, open a business bank account in the company's name. A provider or accountant can handle the transfer and filings for you.
What is the difference between an off-the-shelf company and forming a new one?
An off-the-shelf company already exists on the Companies House register and has been kept dormant, so you take it over rather than create it. Forming a new one means registering from scratch, which costs £100 and takes around 24 hours. The main practical differences are cost, the incorporation date and how quickly you can be trading under the company.
Is it worth buying an off-the-shelf company?
Sometimes. It is worth it when you need a company in place immediately, or a requirement calls for an existing incorporation date. For most directors, though, a fresh £100 formation done within 24 hours is simpler and cheaper — and an older date alone does not bring trading history or credit.
How quickly can I start trading with a ready-made company?
Almost immediately, which is the main draw — the company already exists, so once the shares are transferred, the directors appointed and your identity verified, you can trade under it. In practice, opening a business bank account and registering for the right taxes are what set your real timeline.
Do I still need to register for tax after buying one?
Yes. Taking over the company does not register it for tax automatically. Once it starts trading you must tell HMRC it is active for Corporation Tax, and register for PAYE if you run a payroll and for VAT if your turnover requires it (or you opt in).
Buying an off-the-shelf (ready-made) company means taking over a company that is already registered at Companies House and has been kept dormant, so you can start trading almost immediately rather than waiting on a fresh incorporation. The sequence is short: choose a genuinely dormant company, transfer the shares and appoint the new director(s), verify your identity at Companies House, then update the registered office, SIC codes and accounting date. After that you register for Corporation Tax — and PAYE or VAT if you need them — and open a business bank account. It is worth it when you genuinely need to trade now or want an earlier incorporation date. Be honest with yourself, though: a brand-new company costs £100 and is usually registered within 24 hours, so for many directors forming fresh is simpler and cheaper. Here is exactly how the purchase works, and when it is the right call.
The £100 formation fee is from gov.uk; off-the-shelf prices are commercial and vary by provider. General guidance, not advice.
What exactly are you buying?
An off-the-shelf company is a company that was registered at Companies House and then left dormant — set up but never traded. Because it has never done business, a genuinely dormant one carries no debts, no charges and a clean (if very short) filing history. What you take over is the legal shell: the certificate of incorporation, the company number and an incorporation date that already exists. You do not get customers, contracts, turnover or a credit file — those only come from actually trading, whatever a sales page implies. For the full definition and where it fits, see our guide to what an off-the-shelf company is.
Step by step: how to buy and take over a ready-made company
Taking over a ready-made company is a genuine sequence of steps, and the order matters — you confirm what you are buying, move ownership and control to yourself, prove who you are, then make the company yours on the register and with HMRC. Here is how it runs:
Choose a genuinely dormant company. Confirm on the public register that it has never traded — dormant accounts only, no charges, no outstanding filings. A provider should hand you the incorporation certificate and company number up front.
Transfer the shares and appoint the new director(s). Ownership moves to you when you transfer shares from the current subscriber, and control moves when you are appointed director (and named as a person with significant control). The former director resigns.
Verify your identity at Companies House. Every new director and PSC must now verify their identity — see our guide to Companies House identity verification for directors. You will need a Companies House personal code before the appointment can complete.
Update the registered office, SIC codes and accounting date. Change the registered office to your address, set the SIC code(s) to what you will actually do, and, if it suits your year-end, change the accounting reference date.
Register for Corporation Tax — and PAYE and VAT if you need them. Once the company starts trading, tell HMRC so it is active for Corporation Tax; register for PAYE if you will run a payroll, and for VAT if you must (or choose to).
Open a business bank account. Trading properly means company money kept separate from your own, so open a business account in the company's name.
Ready to take over a genuinely dormant company and start trading this week rather than next month? Our off-the-shelf company service can match you to a clean one and handle the share transfer and appointments.
Is it worth it — or should you just form a new company?
For most people, the honest answer is that a fresh company does the job. Registering a brand-new limited company online costs £100 and is usually done within 24 hours (gov.uk), so the speed advantage a ready-made company once held has largely gone. It still earns its place in a few genuine situations: you need a company registered today because a client, tender or supplier requires one before you can be onboarded, or a specific requirement calls for an incorporation date that already exists. An older date on its own, though, buys very little — it does not create trading history or credit.
Off-the-shelf company
Fresh formation
Cost
Commercial/indicative (varies)
£100
Speed to a company
Same day, ready to take over
~24 hours
Incorporation date
Already exists
Today's date
Best when
You need one now or an existing date
Almost everyone else
We sell off-the-shelf companies, and we still tell plenty of people a £100 fresh formation is the better buy — the honest fit is narrower than most sales pages suggest. If you are weighing the two, our comparison of off-the-shelf versus a new company formation sets out each side, and our guide to how to set up a limited company walks through forming fresh.
Still deciding whether a ready-made company or a fresh formation fits your plans? Our free limited company guide walks through setting up either way, so you can choose before you spend.
Before you pay for any ready-made company, confirm it is genuinely dormant and clean. The Companies House register is public, so you can look up any company yourself and read its filing history for free (gov.uk). Check that the accounts filed are dormant accounts, that there are no mortgages or charges registered against it, that there are no overdue filings or penalties, and that the share structure is what you expect (usually a single subscriber share). If anything on the record is unclear, treat it as a reason to walk away rather than a detail to sort out later. A good provider — and the accountant we can match you with — will run these checks with you and hand over clean paperwork.
Our honest take
An off-the-shelf company is a shortcut, not a head start: it puts a clean, ready-registered shell in your hands, but the trading, the reputation and the credit are still yours to build from day one. Buy one when you genuinely need to move now — and skip it when £100 and a day would have done. If you want a straight answer on which is right for you, and the option you choose set up correctly, we can point you the right way; you can also browse our off-the-shelf companies service to see how it works.
Not sure whether to buy a ready-made company or form fresh — and want it set up right the first time? Tell us what you are trying to do and we will match you to the honest option and handle the paperwork.
How do I buy a ready-made company?
Choose a genuinely dormant company, then transfer the shares to yourself and appoint yourself (and any co-directors) in place of the original director. You verify your identity at Companies House, update the registered office, SIC codes and accounting date, and register for Corporation Tax — plus PAYE and VAT if you need them. Finally, open a business bank account in the company's name. A provider or accountant can handle the transfer and filings for you.
What is the difference between an off-the-shelf company and forming a new one?
An off-the-shelf company already exists on the Companies House register and has been kept dormant, so you take it over rather than create it. Forming a new one means registering from scratch, which costs £100 and takes around 24 hours. The main practical differences are cost, the incorporation date and how quickly you can be trading under the company.
Is it worth buying an off-the-shelf company?
Sometimes. It is worth it when you need a company in place immediately, or a requirement calls for an existing incorporation date. For most directors, though, a fresh £100 formation done within 24 hours is simpler and cheaper — and an older date alone does not bring trading history or credit.
How quickly can I start trading with a ready-made company?
Almost immediately, which is the main draw — the company already exists, so once the shares are transferred, the directors appointed and your identity verified, you can trade under it. In practice, opening a business bank account and registering for the right taxes are what set your real timeline.
Do I still need to register for tax after buying one?
Yes. Taking over the company does not register it for tax automatically. Once it starts trading you must tell HMRC it is active for Corporation Tax, and register for PAYE if you run a payroll and for VAT if your turnover requires it (or you opt in).
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