Business blog

Below we present various topics related to setting up a company in England and to investments

This blog is primarily intended for readers from Poland interested in investing in real estate in England, particularly for rental purposes. The content published is of a general nature and does not constitute a personalised recommendation.

Materials and information presented on this website are for informational and educational purposes only and do not constitute investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. The content published on this website is of a general nature and may not take into account the individual circumstances of the user.
The website operator makes reasonable efforts to ensure that the information is accurate and up to date; however, no guarantees are made as to its completeness or accuracy. Use of the information provided is at the user’s own risk.
Before making any investment or business-related decisions, it is recommended to consult an appropriately qualified professional advisor.
Nothing on this website constitutes a financial promotion or an invitation to invest. The content is based solely on the author’s personal experience.

List of topics:
How to set up a company in England – private limited by shares?
What needs to be done after the company is formed?
What letters arrived after the company was registered?
What was it like opening a business bank account in England and transferring money there?
Why invest in property in northern England through a limited company?
Wouldn’t it be better to invest in REITs or shares instead of physical property?
Does owning a UK company that invests in UK real estate grant the right to live in the UK?
What is the practical difference between making the first payment to the company as share premium versus a shareholder loan?
How to write an email in English if your native language is Polish?
With which brokers was it not possible to open a brokerage account for our company, so that the company could also invest in shares?
Is it possible to invest in stocks as a company registered in England?
How to make informed investment decisions?
Disclaimer

How to set up a company in England – private limited by shares?

One way to set up a company in England is by following the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KjVQ62P21E

The registration process consists of clicking through various options step by step, exactly as shown in the video – similar to how software installation used to look on Windows, using a step-by-step wizard and clicking NEXT. The video also shows how to check if the company name is unique – you may follow the general steps shown in the video; however, you should verify all information independently as procedures may change. Setting up a company in the UK is much simpler than in Poland via e-KRS. In my case, I started the registration on Sunday around 5:00 p.m., and the email confirming company formation arrived on Monday around 9:00 a.m. Although the video is already five years old in 2025, there were no major differences between forming a company on September 28, 2025, and what is shown in the video.

To set up the company, you also need a virtual address – I used:

https://www.firmawanglii.pl/index.html

because the person speaks Polish and responded quickly to emails. That was before the company was formed. How cooperation will look later remains to be seen.

The main difference between the video and reality was the registration fee payable to Companies House. On September 28, 2025, it was already £50 rather than the smaller amount shown at the end of the video. The payment was successfully made using an mBank S.A. debit card.

What needs to be done after the company is formed?

After setting up the company, you should carefully read the confirmation email stating that your company has been formed – particularly this part:

Filing online with Companies House You can use Companies House's WebFiling service to file many documents online. You'll need the company's authentication code to use this service, which we've sent to the company's registered office. You can sign in to WebFiling using this email address, and you'll need to set a new password by using the 'Forgot password' link at:
http://ewf.companieshouse.gov.uk/seclogin
Sign up for email reminders and Companies House will remind you when your accounts and confirmation statement are due to be submitted.

That means you must visit the link provided and take steps to obtain a GOV.UK One Login and connect your LTD company to WebFiling. This is important to do quickly because they send a letter containing a special 6-digit code, and that letter takes about two weeks to arrive. It’s sent as regular mail. When you receive the letter, you can link your LTD company with WebFiling and click PROOF, which enables the option that all company filings will be done electronically, not on paper. The letter can be sent either to the director’s home address or the company’s registered office – you’ll be able to choose.

You can learn more from this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gayhIb3BCM

This video also shows the WebFiling panel once your company is linked after receiving the letter, which usually takes about two weeks.

I also created a Share Subscription Agreement. The agreement PDF was generated for me by ChatGPT.

What letters arrived after the company was registered?

A general information letter arrived at the director’s home address confirming that the person was appointed as a director.
Another letter, which was sent to the director’s address (because that option was intentionally selected on the website), contained the WebFiling authentication code – which is very important, since companies are required to submit various reports to Companies House.
A separate letter sent to the virtual office address contained the activation code for Corporation Tax. After activation, the company received its Corporation Tax Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number.

What was it like opening a business bank account in England and transferring money there?

Opening a Revolut Business account involved being asked how the company director planned to perform daily duties while not living in the UK. After answering, the account was created. However, it should be noted that the director (and sole shareholder) does not intend to carry out daily on-the-ground operational duties personally, but rather to build assets and supervise the investment from an owner’s perspective. I understood the question as reflecting the difference between running a small local day-to-day business and operating an investment-focused company.

Transferring money from mBank S.A. to Revolut UK was even more difficult. The transfer was blocked both by mBank S.A. and Revolut UK. mBank asked if anyone had called me and persuaded me to invest in Bitcoin or gold. After a negative response, the transfer was unblocked. Then Revolut UK blocked it again, requesting proof of income. After sending tax returns for 2023 and 2024, there was no indication that the transfer would be unblocked quickly. Revolut rejected both tax returns and demanded a 2025 return — which was impossible in September 2025, since the 2025 tax year had not yet ended. Opening a Revolut account was therefore a very difficult and frustrating experience for me. This was my individual experience, and procedures may differ depending on the case. Eventually, the account was approved and the incoming transfer was unblocked. The main positive was the UK IBAN and a business savings account for the LTD company with interest paid in GBP. When setting up such an account, it is worth enabling additional protection for withdrawals from the savings account. Revolut should then require a SELFIE each time money is withdrawn from savings to the main account. Another downside is the account cost – £35 per month.

This description reflects only my individual experience and should not be interpreted as a general assessment of the service.

A Polish negative review of Revolut can be found in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUJOeCm-xDM

If you want to look for other accounts in the UK, this company might know alternative digital banks:

https://www.sovereigngroup.com/staff/simon-denton/

As a non-resident director, you may face significant difficulties opening an account for your company with a traditional UK bank that has physical branches – hence the whole idea of using Revolut.

This was my individual experience and may differ in other cases.

Why invest in property in northern England through a limited company?

The question contains two elements: why northern England rather than Poland, Ireland, Spain, or Cyprus, and why via a limited company rather than as a private individual.

Why not as an individual:
– in a limited company, renovation costs can be deducted as business expenses.

Why northern England:
– good ratio of property prices to rental income,
– access to buy-to-let mortgages even if, as an LTD director, you don’t live in the UK – the loan will be more expensive than for UK residents, but at least it’s available (unlike in Spain),
– possibility of interest-only repayments on buy-to-let mortgages with capital repayment after 20 years,
– growing national population and steady rental demand, while for example, Poland faces a demographic crisis.

Wouldn’t it be better to invest in REITs or shares instead of physical property?

We do not provide investment advice. Everything above and below represents personal opinion only. The answer to this question will always depend on your individual circumstances. In my opinion, it may be worth considering both. If you’re interested in REITs, talk to an investment advisor, or carry out your own research based on publicly available sources.

A good Polish YouTube channel to follow:

https://www.youtube.com/@cezarygraf

And what are the arguments for owning a limited company in England that holds properties?
In some cases, it may be possible to live in a property owned by the company while paying market rent; however, this depends on individual tax and legal circumstances and should be verified with a qualified advisor. You can also take out a buy-to-let mortgage and use the funds within your company to buy another property. The company may also finance certain assets used within its business activity. These are options you do not get by investing in REITs. However, remember that REITs are passive investments, while property rental is a business that may involve tenancy-related issues or property-condition issues. At least during the purchase and renovation stages, your time will be heavily involved. Later, if you have a letting agent managing your properties, there’s a chance it won’t take much of your time.

Does owning a UK company that invests in UK real estate grant the right to live in the UK?

No. You can own a company in the UK and live elsewhere, or you can obtain some other route to reside in the UK. Other options include Irish citizenship (at least in theory) or obtaining a skilled worker visa — meaning you have certain qualifications, e.g., as a boiler technician, IT specialist, or nurse.

What is the practical difference between making the first payment to the company as share premium versus a shareholder loan?

The practical difference between making the first payment to the company as share premium versus a shareholder loan is that if the share premium is a relatively large amount, closing down the limited company may become more complicated, more expensive, and in practice may require the assistance of a professional adviser or solicitor. In some cases, this may result in significant additional costs when winding up the company.

How to write an email in English if your native language is Polish?

At the top of the email, write Hi and add a comma. At the bottom of the email, write Kind regards and your name. Write the rest in Polish, paste it into ChatGPT, and tell it to translate it into English. A translation done this way has a chance of being better, even if someone has been learning English for a long time.

With which brokers was it not possible to open a brokerage account for our company, so that the company could also invest in shares?

- freedom24.com – it was not possible to obtain clear information as to whether a UK company could open an account; you have to fill in a form where the UK address is accepted multiple times, until suddenly a red message appears saying that the company cannot be from the UK. In my experience, this process was time-consuming and involved additional costs, because during the form completion they require the company to have an LEI – Legal Entity Identifier – such a number must be obtained from external websites and costs over 200 GBP – in my case this meant an additional expense of more than 200 GBP.

- swissquote.ch – the company required completion of a very long form, and then informed me that in order to open an account it was necessary to maintain activity on the account and deposit 100,000 USD. From my point of view, this process was inefficient and poorly suited to an investor who might want to make transactions very rarely, for example one transaction every six months. In the end, I got the impression that this company’s offer was simply not suited to my model of investing.

Is it possible to invest in stocks as a company registered in England?

Ultimately – yes. A company registered in England can invest in stocks through a brokerage account; however, choosing the right broker is crucial.
As the previous examples show, not every platform is suited to handling UK companies or investors with a specific investment approach (e.g. low trading frequency).
In practice, this may involve:
unclear registration processes,
additional formal requirements (e.g. LEI),
high entry thresholds,
or the need to maintain a certain level of activity.

One of the solutions that proved workable in practice is a brokerage account with Interactive Brokers (the LEI number finally turned out to be useful).
The account opening process involves standard verification procedures (KYC/AML), which require providing documentation related to the company, its owners, and the source of funds.
From my experience:
the account opening process was relatively smooth with complete documentation,
there were no high minimum deposit requirements typical of some institutions,
the account can be used even with a low trading frequency.

After funding the account, funds are usually credited relatively quickly; however, the exact transfer time depends on the bank and the payment method used.

How to make informed investment decisions?

An example of material showing individuals who incurred losses on complex investments:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tHefRgCWpo
The description below is not related to the above video or the stories presented in it. The material is referenced solely as an illustration of situations where investors engage in highly complex investment products.
When buying a food product in a grocery store, you likely check its ingredients. If the list of ingredients is very long, complex, and contains numerous processed substances, many people approach such a product with caution.
In contrast, products with a simple composition – such as flour, water, and spices – are easier to understand and evaluate.

A similar principle may apply to investing.

Simpler forms of investment may include:
a bank account,
a fixed-term deposit,
shares of well-known companies,
real estate.

More complex products, on the other hand, may involve multi-layered structures where:
multiple entities are involved,
additional conditions apply (e.g. exchange rates),
financial instruments such as bonds are used,
the investment is based on future assumptions or projects.

The following example is hypothetical and serves only to illustrate the level of complexity:

An investment in a hotel room involving multiple entities, additional guarantees, bond issuance, and market conditions such as exchange rates, where the success of the project depends on many factors simultaneously. For many investors, simpler products are easier to understand and to assess risk independently than complex investment structures. This does not mean that complex products are always inappropriate – however, they require significantly more detailed analysis and a full understanding of all relationships and risks involved.

Summary
The simpler the investment, the easier it is to understand
The more complex the structure, the greater the potential risks
Understanding the investment is key before making a decision

Informed investing begins with one simple question:
do I really understand what I am investing in?

Disclaimer

Materials and information presented on this website are for informational and educational purposes only and do not constitute investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. The content published on this website is of a general nature and may not take into account the individual circumstances of the user.
The website operator makes reasonable efforts to ensure that the information is accurate and up to date; however, no guarantees are made as to its completeness or accuracy. Use of the information provided is at the user’s own risk.
Before making any investment or business-related decisions, it is recommended to consult an appropriately qualified professional advisor. The content is based solely on the author’s personal experience.