If you are a business owner and you are thinking about changing your company name for any reason. I will be discussing some of the reasons why you might decide to change your company name as well as the potential risks involved when changing your company name on companies house.
WATCH THE VIDEO TUTORIAL : Change LTD Company Name On Companies House
Common Reasons for Changing Company Name
- Change in Products/Service Offered
It’s likely that when you initially started the business, you started with a specific product/service and are now looking to diversify your products/services offered by your business. This is a common reason why many business owners may choose to change their company name.
- Change in Region/Geography
Most business owners in the uk may also decide to change their company name when there has been a change in region or geography of the business. This is particularly relevant where your company name was named after a particular location, e.g “Sheffield Motors” or “Newcastle Logistics“
- Change in Ownership
Choosing to change your company name on companies house may also be due to a recent change in ownership. This is also common where the company has been bought or sold and is now operated by new business owners/company directors.
- Legal Reasons
In this instance, you may be required to change your company name where there has been a demand from another company for breaking a trademark or registering a company name that is very similar to another existing company.
If this is the case, you need to ensure that prior to changing your company name you adhere to legal rules around uk company name and incorporation to ensure that you do not re-register a company name which may be breaking any laws.
Risks Involved When Changing Limited Company Name
Before you go ahead to change your company name, there are a few risks you should be aware of.
- Loss of Brand Awareness
Making the decision to change your company name might result in loss of brand awareness and recognition especially if you have been running that business for a considerable length of time.
- Loss of Customer Loyalty
Another risk with changing your company name when running a business in the uk is the loss of customer loyalty. This is because majority of your customers may assume that due to a change of company name that company no longer exists or is now being operated by a different owner.
There are additional notes to be aware of prior to changing your name on companies house.
- You will not get a new certificate of incorporation once your company name has been changed. Instead, you will get a certificate of incorporation on change of names.
- Your old company name will remain on companies house register, despite you changing your company name.
In this full video tutorial, I have completed a full demonstration of how to change your company name on companies house.
