UK Company Formation Types Compared: LTD, PLC, LLP and LLP — Which One Is Your Supplier?

When you look up a UK supplier on Companies House, one of the first fields you see is the "Company type". This field tells you the legal structure of the entity you are dealing with, which in turn tells you about its regulatory obligations, its disclosure requirements, and the level of financial transparency you can expect. A private limited company (LTD) is very different from a public limited company (PLC), a limited liability partnership (LLP), or an overseas entity. This guide compares the four main types you will encounter and what each means for you as a counterparty.

Private limited company (LTD)

The most common UK company type by far. An LTD is a separate legal entity owned by shareholders and managed by directors. Its liability is limited to the value of its shares — meaning if the company goes bust, shareholders lose what they have put in but their personal assets are generally protected. An LTD must file annual accounts and a confirmation statement with Companies House, and those accounts are publicly visible. An LTD's accounts can be filed as small companies (abbreviated accounts with less disclosure) if it meets two of the three criteria: turnover under £10.2 million, assets under £5.1 million, and fewer than 50 employees. Many suppliers are LTDs, and for most procurement purposes an LTD with up-to-date filings and a going-concern opinion from its auditor is the standard.

Public limited company (PLC)

A PLC is also limited by shares but is permitted to offer its shares to the public on a stock exchange. PLCs have significantly higher disclosure requirements than LTDs: they must file full (not abbreviated) accounts, publish a directors' report, and comply with the UK Corporate Governance Code. The minimum share capital for a PLC is £50,000. PLCs are less common as suppliers — most PLCs are large listed companies. If a supplier is a PLC, it is likely a substantial entity with a public market listing, and its financial statements will give you a much clearer picture of its financial position than an LTD.

Limited liability partnership (LLP)

An LLP is a partnership (not a company) that has a legal personality separate from its members and provides limited liability. LLPs are commonly used by professional services firms — accountancy practices, law firms, architectural practices, and consulting firms. An LLP must file accounts with Companies House, but the disclosure is lower than for a company: LLPs do not have share capital, do not have directors in the company law sense, and do not file a confirmation statement (they file an annual return to Companies House instead, though this is now merged with the confirmation statement process for companies). An LLP's accounts show the profit split between members, which gives you a rough indication of the firm's size.

Overseas entity registered in the UK

Since the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022, overseas entities that own or buy UK real estate must register with Companies House and disclose their beneficial owners. An overseas entity on Companies House is not a UK-registered company — it is a foreign entity with a UK registration. This is relevant for procurement because an overseas entity has different reporting obligations and is subject to different insolvency regimes. If you are contracting with an entity registered as an overseas entity, ask for details of its home jurisdiction and the extent to which UK law governs the relationship.

What this means for supplier screening

The company type tells you what to expect from the filings. An LTD will have (at minimum) abbreviated accounts and a confirmation statement; a PLC will have full audited accounts; an LLP will have an annual return and profit-sharing information. If a company is listed as an LTD but has never filed accounts, or is an LLP that has not filed its annual return, the type does not matter — the entity is non-compliant regardless of structure. For most suppliers, the type tells you which documents to expect and what level of disclosure you can rely on when assessing the supplier's financial position. Use the type to frame your due diligence: you need different information from an LTD than from an LLP, and both are different from a PLC.