In business or commercial law in certain common law jurisdictions, an ordinary resolution is a resolution passed by the shareholders of a company by a simple or bare majority (for example more than 50% of the vote) either at a convened meeting of shareholders or by circulating a resolution for signature. A special resolution by comparison requires a greater vote threshold, which varies in different jurisdictions .
16-753: Hillards plc was a small supermarket chain from the North of England , bought out in a hostile takeover by Tesco in May 1987. The company was founded by John Wesley Hillard in 1885, in the West Yorkshire town of Cleckheaton . The first shop was opened in Lion Chambers there, and shortly after 1900, there were twenty shops operating as Lion Stores . By 1951, there were over seventy stores, and by 1968, it had warehouse size stores in Wakefield , Lincoln and York . In 1970,
32-484: A company director, provided they are not disqualified on one of the following grounds: The members must agree to take some, or all, of the shares when the company is registered. The memorandum of association must show the names of the people who have agreed to take shares and the number of shares each will take. These people are called the subscribers. There is a minimum share capital for public limited companies: before it can start business, it must have allotted shares to
48-474: A special resolution that it be so re-registered and deliver a copy of the resolution together with an application form to the Registrar. The resolution must also: If it does not already have sufficient share capital, the company must issue £50,000 in shares a minimum of 25% part paid. Ordinary resolution An ordinary resolution is the most common method by which a corporate entity conducts its business or
64-422: Is 23 minutes. Because the electronic process requires compatible software that works with Companies House eFiling service, companies are usually formed through a Company Formation Agent. Every company must deliver an annual return to Companies House at least once every twelve months. It has 28 days from the date to which the return is made up to do this. Failure to file a return is a criminal offence, for which
80-455: Is a type of public company under United Kingdom company law , some Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland . It is a limited liability company whose shares may be freely sold and traded to the public (although a PLC may also be privately held, often by another PLC), with a minimum share capital of £50,000 and usually with the letters PLC after its name. Similar companies in
96-599: The Northern Ireland Executive 's Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment , but since then Northern Irish company registrations, as with those of the rest of the United Kingdom , have been handled by Companies House. Formation of a public limited company requires a minimum of two directors and one secretary (differing from country to country: in India three directors are required). In general terms anyone can be
112-710: The United States are called publicly traded companies . A PLC can be either an unlisted or listed company on the stock exchanges . In the United Kingdom, a public limited company usually must include the words "public limited company" or the abbreviation "PLC" or "plc" at the end and as part of the legal company name. Welsh companies may instead choose to end their names with ccc , an abbreviation for cwmni cyfyngedig cyhoeddus . However, some public limited companies (mostly nationalised concerns) incorporated under special legislation are exempted from bearing any of
128-412: The board of directors seeks shareholder approval of its actions. The prevailing legislation applying to companies in the relevant jurisdiction will usually prescribe certain activities which must be approved by special resolution or alternatively which cannot be approved by ordinary resolution (for example altering the company's constitutional documents , reducing the share capital or dissolving
144-427: The company). In addition, in certain circumstances a company may wish to amend its constitution to increase the threshold to provide that a special resolution needs to be passed prior to the company engaging in other matters which may ordinarily approved by simple majority, purely as a matter of internal organisational control. This article relating to law in the United Kingdom , or its constituent jurisdictions,
160-572: The following categories: Bearer shares are no longer possible, as they were abolished in the UK by the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. Any existing bearer shares had to be converted to registered shares before February 2016, or face cancellation. A PLC has access to capital markets and can offer its shares for sale to the public through a recognised stock exchange. It can also issue advertisements offering any of its securities for sale to
176-705: The identifying suffixes. The term "public limited company" and the "PLC"/"plc" suffix were introduced in 1981; prior to this, all limited companies bore the suffix "Limited" ("Ltd."), which is still used by private limited companies . When a new company incorporates in England and Wales or in Scotland , it must register with Companies House , an executive agency of the Department for Business and Trade . Prior to October 2009, companies in Northern Ireland were registered with
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#1732851684003192-572: The increase on Form 123 – must reach Companies House within 15 days of being passed. No fee is payable to Companies House. A company can decrease its authorised share capital by passing an ordinary resolution to cancel shares which have not been taken or agreed to be taken by any person. Notice of the cancellation, on Form 122, must reach Companies House within one month. No fee is payable to Companies House. A company may have as many different types of shares as it wishes, all with different conditions attached to them. Generally, share types are divided into
208-503: The officers of the company may be fined. There is an annual document-processing fee of £40 if filed by paper (or £13 for users of the Electronic Filing or WebFilings services), which must be sent to Companies House with the annual return. Both a private company limited by shares and an unlimited company with a share capital may re-register as a plc, but a company without a share capital cannot do so. A private company must pass
224-423: The public. In contrast, a private company may not offer to the public any shares in itself. The following documents, together with the registration fee are sent to the Registrar of Companies: The key difference with the paper process is that there is no Form 12 and requirement for a statutory declaration. This significantly speeds the process: the record at Companies House for the formation of an Electronic Company
240-584: The trade name Lion Stores was dropped in favour of Hillards and in 1972, the company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange . Peter Hartley, a grandson of the founder, became executive chairman in 1983 and in May 1987, following a hostile bid, the business was acquired by Tesco for £220m. This article about a retailer in the United Kingdom is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Public limited company A public limited company (legally abbreviated to PLC or plc )
256-413: The value of at least £50,000. A quarter of them, £12,500, must be paid up. Each allotted share must be paid up to at least one quarter of its nominal value together with the whole of any premium. A company can increase its authorised share capital by passing an ordinary resolution (unless its articles of association require a special or extraordinary resolution ). A copy of the resolution – and notice of
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