Company Registration in the UK Without 1st Formations: Personal Experience

If you’ve been following the development of the VecomLab project, you probably know that Vecom Lab Limited was initially registered through the 1st Formations service, and the bank account was opened with Wise. This solution proved to be quick and cost-effective, but over time, there are important nuances to consider for anyone planning to register a company in the UK.

• How to Open a Company in the UK through 1st Formations?
• How to Open a Business Account with Wise?

Problem with the Legal Address

For the first year after registering VecomLab, I used the virtual address provided by 1st Formations. Formally, this was sufficient—even the Stripe verification process went smoothly.

But in practice, it turned out that:

• Many services require a confirmed legal address for the company.
• Often, confirmation of the owner's residential address is also required.

These addresses may not coincide, but it is important that both can be verified. Otherwise, there could be issues with banks, payment systems, and other counterparties.

Waiver of 1st Formations Services

At the end of 2024, I decided to discontinue the services of 1st Formations. It turned out to be more complicated than registering the company itself. To do this, I had to find an experienced accountant who resides in the UK.

• The cost of the consultation was £240 (including VAT).
• The format was an online meeting lasting 1 hour.
• We discussed the company's goals, objectives, and areas of activity.

After the consultation, the accountant took on all the tasks: changing the address, adding new SIC codes, adjusting the share distribution, and communicating with government institutions. All I had to do was provide the Authentication Code and occasionally review and sign documents.

Change of Registered Address

The first thing we did was change the company's address with Companies House (CH). This was necessary to discontinue the services of 1st Formations — they automatically issue an invoice for renewal and charge the card.

Next, the accountant:

• Submitted all the documents for registering the new address.
• Updated the SIC codes.
• Reallocated the shares, as the initial structure from 1st Formations did not suit us.

The cost of these services was £94 (including VAT).

New Address and Documents

There were some minor issues with the new address, but the accountant quickly resolved them. A notification from Companies House confirming the changes was sent to the email.

What was required from me:

• Sign the Virtual Office Application Form.
• Complete and sign the Application for Direct Debit.

After that, the first invoice arrived:

• Deposit: £56
• Monthly address fee: £28 (including VAT)

Complete Independence from 1st Formations

Thus, I managed to disconnect Vecom Lab Limited from 1st Formations and obtain a fully functional registered address. The total cost of all stages was £418 (including VAT).

Since then, there have been no issues with address verification.

Registration of a New Company

Based on my previous experience, for the new project, I decided to register the company through an accountant from the very beginning. My partner supported this, and the process went much faster and smoother.

• Registration cost: £196 (including VAT).
• The legal address was arranged in the same way as before.

If you plan to do business with a company registered in the UK, especially in the long term, I recommend not limiting yourself to basic online services but instead working with a professional accountant from the start. This will not only save time and nerves but also help avoid many potential problems.