Last Updated on October 13, 2025 by Joy Kyalo
The thrill of registering a business and entering a real world of entrepreneurship is exciting; however, the hurdles of the legal requirement and procedures can be daunting. Thinking about the whole process of incorporating a company in the UK can cause headaches for entrepreneurs due to the need to comply with various regulations especially if they are unfamiliar with the legal and administrative process.
However, the incorporation process has been made easier by company formation agents who have removed the paperwork hurdles for entrepreneurs. Instead of filling out all the company incorporation forms and submit to Companies House, entrepreneurs can now fill out a 3-minute online form with their business information and everything will be handled.
UK company formations help business owners and founders register their businesses with Companies House and offer additional services to help in the company’s daily operations. With numerous company formation agents, it may be challenging for a business owner to choose the best company formation agent in the UK for their company.
This guide will identify best company formation agents in the UK to help you save much time and make an informed decision for your business.
Key Takeaways
- Company formation agents save time by managing all registration paperwork and ensuring compliance with UK laws.
- They provide key support like a registered office address, mail handling, and help with VAT and annual filings.
- Many agents, including BusinAssist, also offer extra services like virtual offices, business bank accounts, and telephony solutions.
What is a company formation agent?
Before we dive right into the best company formation agents in the UK, let us understand who they are and what they do. A company formation agent is a third-party service that helps business owners, entrepreneurs, and founders register their businesses. Registering your business makes it an official entity and recognised by the government.
While you can directly register your business with Companies House, company formation agents have removed the hurdle and headache of filling out and submitting the paperwork making your work a lot easier and faster.
As a new entrepreneur, you may be unfamiliar with the legal and administrative procedure of forming a company unless you take time to research and understand them which may take much of your time to register your company. company formation agents guide and advise you as they register the company on your behalf. Within one day after giving them your company details, your company will be incorporated and a Certificate of Incorporation sent to you via email.
When registering a company in the UK, you must have a UK registered office address which can also be your residential address. These addresses are made available to the public for transparency and accountability purposes.
There are also ongoing compliances such as registering and filing tax returns, annual accounts, and confirmation statement filings. Putting all these in mind, company formation agents offer additional services apart from company incorporation to help business owners be compliant in the lifetime of their company and ease their burden in operating the company.
While operating a business can be challenging with long hours and high responsibility, having a company formation agent is pretty painless and lowers the burden in certain areas of your company.
Why choose a company formation agent for your business?
Now that we understand what company formation agent is and how they help businesses, let us understand why business owners should choose to use one.
Saves you time
While incorporating your company through the Companies House website yourself takes only 24 hours, with company formation agents you can save time since they are well-versed and will ensure accurate information is submitted to Companies House. Being well-versed with the legal procedures of company incorporation in the UK, they understand what is needed and can deal with any problems that may come up unlike when you were told to resubmit the whole registration process again due to a minor mistake.
Provide registered office address
Registered office address is a legal requirement according to the Companies Act 2006. Through UK virtual office services offered by company formation agents, business owners can get a Virtual business address that can be used as a registered office address.
According to the Companies Act 2006, companies registered in the UK should have an ‘appropriate’ address, meaning, it should be a physical address and not a PO Box, located in the same jurisdiction where the company is registered, accessible to receive official correspondence and legal notices and a representative on behalf of the company should acknowledge the delivery of documents sent to that address.
Pro Tip: Smart Move for UK Startups
Choose a company formation agent that also provides ongoing compliance and virtual office support. With BusinAssist, you can register your company quickly, get a professional UK address, and stay compliant without extra hassle.
Company formation agents offer exactly that. Once you rent their business address as your company’s registered office or directors’ service address, they will offer mail handling services where they will receive your correspondence on your behalf and send it to you either through scanning to email or forward it to your designated address.
Offer ongoing compliance support
Once your company is registered, it is subjected to ongoing compliance failure to which your company will be penalised or fined or even face legal consequences. This adds up to the administrative burden which can be eased by a company formation agent.
Company formation agents will act as your company secretary by helping you maintain statutory registers, file annual accounts and confirmation statements, register and help you submit VAT, and EORI number applications, company name changes, and many more. This will help your company reduce overhead costs.
Extra services
Company formation agents offer extra services that will help you in your business operations such as a telephony solution, company logo, UK business bank account, UK virtual phone numbers, and many more. These services will help business owners streamline their business operations.
In the next section, we will understand factors that you should check when looking for the best company formation agent for your UK limited company.
What factors to consider when choosing a company formation agent?
Companies House authorisation
For a company formation agent to help you incorporate a company on your behalf, they must be authorised by Companies House. When an agent is authorised by Companies House, it means that they are approved to act on your behalf and meet the standard requirements. To know if a company formation agent is authorised, you can search for them on the Companies House website.
Cost
The other factor you should consider is cost. Company formation agents have packages that you can choose according to your budget. These packages are priced according to the additional services and features they come with, the fewer the services the cheaper the package while the more the services the higher the price.
When comparing prices, be sure to check if the additional services offered match the price of the package. As you check for prices, be sure to check the quality of the service offered because you might choose the cheapest option only to receive poor service missing vital services.
Reputation
A good reputation of a service provider is crucial cause it will save you on cost and time. Consider checking company reviews, ratings, and industry recognition. Most of the UK company formation agents‘ reviews and rankings can be found in Trustpilot, social media platforms, and Yell.com. customers who have experience of working with a service provider, are always honest with their experience, making reviews a crucial thing for business owners to look at before settling for one.
You can also do a Google search to find out if the company has ever been involved in any scandal or has ever been mentioned for anything negative or positive to help you make an informed decision.
Services
Most company formation agents offer extra services apart from company formation. When comparing company formation agents, keep in mind the services that your company must have to help you make an informed decision. Since your business is evolving, be sure to choose a company formation agent that will support your business growth and stages.
Efficiency
Efficiency is crucial for businesses that rely on services to function smoothly. Ensure the service provider is efficient and has a quick turn-around time. Ensure to also ask questions if the turn-around time they are advertising on their website is true after the submission of your company details.
Reliable customer support
A business owner may have a lot of questions especially if it is their first time registering a business. Reliable customer support is essential to answer and deal with uncertainties. The best way to know if a company formation agent’s customer support is reliable, check customer reviews. If most of them are complaining about customer support then that’s a no-go zone.
Best company formation agents in the UK
1. BusinAssist
With more than 25,000 business owners who form their limited companies annually in the UK, BusinAssist is your trusted company formation agent in the UK. While competition is plenty in the UK company formation sector, helping entrepreneurs kickstart their business operations with their reliable services has helped us attain more than 10,000 positive customer reviews.
The UK company formation is fast and affordable. They are the only company formation agents who do not differentiate prices for company formation services for UK and non-UK residents. We also offer additional services such as a virtual office UK, company logo, multi-currency business bank account, UK virtual mobile number, 24/7 call answering services, back-office solutions, company administration solutions, and many more.
The UK company registration packages come in two plans: registration with your own address which costs £50.99 inclusive of Companies House fees and the other package is company formation with privacy, meaning you rent our address for only £0.88 per week and we’ll register your company to it for free!
We also understand that incorporating a business and operating it is not an easy task, so our services come with cash rewards and free gifts from free tastecard worth £95.88, free bank account with any of the banks we have partnered with that Barclays and Tide and get a £50 cash reward, free Google Ad voucher worth £400, free.co.uk and .uk domain, and free Yell.com.
2. 1st Formation
This company formation agents are known for multiple limited companies’ registration. Apart from private limited company incorporation, they also offer limited liability partnership (LLP) and public limited company (PLC).
Their packages are divided between UK residents and non-residents. For UK residents, they get to choose from various packages which include digital, privacy, prestige, and all inclusive which costs £52.99, £67.99, £89.99, and £99.99 respectively.
Non-residential package costs £149.99
Pro Tip: Choosing the Right Agent
When choosing a company formation agent, look beyond just the registration cost. Pick one that offers extra value – like BusinAssist, which provides a UK virtual office, business bank account, call answering, and compliance support. You’ll save time, gain credibility, and get everything your new business needs under one roof.
3. Rapid formation
These are the best-reviewed company formation agents in the UK due to their good customer services. Apart form company formation services they offer additional services which include address services and corporate services.
The prices for limited company formation will depend with either you are a resident or a non-resident in the UK. Residential packages include basic, privacy, privacy plus, and all-inclusive which costs £2.99, £14.99, £39.99, and £49.99 respectively excluding Companies House fees.
Non-residential packages range from £99.99 + £50 Companies House fee to £189.99 + £50 Companies House fee.
4. Your Company Formation
They help business owners incorporate companies limited by shares, guarantees, charity, LLP, and PLC. Their packages range from the digital plan, digital & print, privacy, fully inclusive, international, and entrepreneurs’ choice which costs £2.48, £6.98, £17.48, £44.48, £98.48, and £315.00 respectively exclusive of Companies House fees.
5. Tide
Tide is known for its online banking services which target businesses but they offer company formation services for only £14.99. They offer to pay for your Companies House registration fees which is £50.00. This helps you as a business owner to save more for your business. However, this service is only available to UK residents.
The extra services they offer are a free business bank account and business tools.
To sum up, the following are the best company formation agents in the UK. However, if you need to save money as a UK or a non-UK resident, BusinAssist is the perfect service provider for your business.
Need to make a profit by forming a UK company through BusinAssist? Contact us at info@businassist.com.
FAQs
Q: Should I use a company formation agent?
Ans: While you can submit company registration to Companies House yourself, you should use a company formation agent to save time in the company incorporation process. Your company will also benefit from additional services from virtual offices, mail handling, telephony solutions, and administrative support.
Q: Is a company formation agent worth it?
Ans: Company formation agents are worth it since they help business owners save time and money when incorporating a company. they also offer administrative support which simplifies their administrative burden.
Q: Why use a company formation agent?
Ans: A business owner may use a company formation agent for various purposes such as:
- Saving time and money
- Registered office address
- Ongoing support and compliance
- Additional services
- Assist with VAT number registration and filing return
Q: Are company formation agents regulated?
Ans: Company formation agents are regulated and approved to act on behalf of the business owner with Companies House. To check if a company formation agent is authorised, you can check on the Companies House website.
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Joy is a content writer at BusinAssist with 6+ years of experience in content marketing and social media strategy. She specialises in company formation and virtual operations, guiding entrepreneurs through global markets with clarity, drawing on her marketing and PR background. Business Assist with BusinAssist – your business success partner.