Every company should fulfil their annual statutory requirements. A company must deliver an annual return to Companies House within 28 days of its made-up date. This is the date at which all the information in an annual return must be correct. The made-up date is usually the anniversary of:

• The incorporation of the company; or
• The made-up date of the previous annual return registered at Companies House.

An annual return is a snapshot of certain company information at the made-up date. It is separate from a company's annual accounts. An annual return must contain the following information:

• The name of the company;
• Its registered number;
• The type of company it is, for example, private or public;
• The registered office address of the company;
• The address where certain company registers are kept if not at the registered office;
• The principal business activities of the company
• The name and address of the company secretary;
• The name, usual residential address, date of birth, nationality and business occupation of all the company's directors;
• The date to which the annual return is made-up (the made-up date).

And if the company has share capital, the annual return must also contain:

The nominal value of total issued share capital; The names and addresses of shareholders and the number and type of shares they hold or transfer from other shareholders. Directors are personally responsible for meeting these requirements. Failure to do so can lead to heavy penalties and the company being struck from the register. A company's director(s) is responsible for ensuring that the annual return:

• Is delivered to Companies House within 28 days after the anniversary of incorporation or the anniversary of the made-up date of the last annual return; and
• Gives a true picture of the management structure and capital (if applicable) of the company at the made-up date.

For companies which Fides Partners Limited provides a registered office address, mail forwarding, telephone and fax services, or any of our nominee services, please note that these services are provided and charged annually. Fides Partners Limited will send you a renewal notice a month before these services are due to expire, to confirm if you would like to renew these services. Our fees for company renewal only is as follows:

Preparation of annual return Filing annual return with companies house   £ 50

An invoice will be sent to you upon confirmation that you do wish to renew these services, and this invoice must be paid in full before the anniversary of your company formation. If you do not wish to continue receiving these services, you must notify us immediately and lodge the official changes of your company details with Companies House before the anniversary of the formation of your company. In the event that you no longer wish to maintain your company to a level which complies with the statutory requirements, you must formally file for the dissolution of your company at Companies House. If you do not respond to our renewal notice, or pay the renewal invoice before the anniversary of the formation of your company, we will withdraw these services and inform Companies House that we have done so.

A company needs to file the annual return and the services such as registered office address are very often subscribed to in order to comply with statutory requirements. When your company filing and reports are late, this is shown on the Companies House on the Companies House Website and this may affect your credibility. Non- renewal or leaving things really late may cause some very serious consequences for your company and you may even receive a Proposal to Strike Off or a Proposed Company Removal letter and may be fined, dissolved, or even placed into administrative liquidation and have their bank accounts frozen and their property and assets confiscated.

So long as a company is registered, the beneficial directors of that company will be liable for all fines and penalties imposed for the non-compliance of the statutory requirements. A company will not be permitted to be dissolved if there are any unpaid fines or penalties. The beneficial directors of any company that does not pay the penalties or fines imposed by Companies House will be sued by the Companies House solicitors. If the suit goes to court, company property and assets may be confiscated as part of a judgement against the company. The Secretary of State has to decide whether it is in the public interest to seek a disqualification order against a director.

If your company has been dissolved, and there are assets or monies in the company's name, you will need to take prompt action to have the company restored to the Register. On dissolution of the company, any assets remaining in its name passed to the Crown. Therefore the company's members and directors must not attempt to use any of its assets e.g. a company bank account. A company cannot be restored to the Register by the formation of a new UK limited company with the same name as the struck off or dissolved company. It will have to be a different company - a new company formation and the assets of the previously dissolved company will remain beyond your reach unless the proper procedures are followed for restoration to the Register at Companies House.