One company or multiple companies?

Looking for advice on whether to register one company covering different business activities.

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Hi Everyone,

I am just starting out and hoping for some advice on company structure. I'm currently working on developing websites in various niches, currently three different ones. Each niche website will host content and generate income through sponsorship & affiliate marketing. I will be using digital marketing techniques to drive traffic to the websites and as I develop my skills I also plan to start offering related services to clients (e.g. building websites).

What I am trying to work out is the company structure I need, in my head I could have one company that runs all the niche websites and does the client work or I could have a separate company for each niche website and a separate one again for the client work, although this seems much more complicated. I'm aware there may be implications in both approaches - tax, VAT etc.

Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Replies (12)

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ALISK
By atleastisoundknowledgable...
06th Oct 2018 10:38

What does your accountant suggest? If you don’t have one, can I suggest you get one ASAP - this is an important decision that should be considered properly, not by some throw-away comments on a free forum.

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Replying to atleastisoundknowledgable...:
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By jh2067
06th Oct 2018 10:43

Hi, thanks for the reply. I do plan to engage an accountant before formally going ahead (once I have my material developed) but interested to hear if anyone else has had experience in this area.

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Replying to jh2067:
Stepurhan
By stepurhan
06th Oct 2018 12:54

jh2067 wrote:

I do plan to engage an accountant before formally going ahead (once I have my material developed) but interested to hear if anyone else has had experience in this area.


If you're looking for someone with experience in the area to engage, this would make sense. Otherwise, not so much.

An accountant you engage will know all the details so can advise you effectively. He will also have insurance to cover you if his advice proves inadequate.

We don't know all the details, and could give you advice that gets you into big trouble without any consequences.

If you are genuinely planning to take on an accountant why take the risk?

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Replying to stepurhan:
paddle steamer
By DJKL
06th Oct 2018 13:04

Have you been taking a long holiday? Welcome back.

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Replying to jh2067:
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By Tax Dragon
07th Oct 2018 12:08

jh2067 wrote:

I... plan to engage an accountant... once I have my material developed...

There may be an advantage to doing so now. (Or maybe a disadvantage to waiting till then. Same difference.)

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paddle steamer
By DJKL
06th Oct 2018 11:34

There are no generic answers here, there are answers depending upon the longer term planning and aspirations of yourself and what you foresee happening with the different websites etc, accordingly you need an accountant as what you are asking is "how long is a piece of string" the answer to which is "it depends what you want it for"

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Replying to DJKL:
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By The Innkeeper
07th Oct 2018 13:06

Q: How long is a piece of string
A: twice the distance from the middle

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Replying to The Innkeeper:
ALISK
By atleastisoundknowledgable...
08th Oct 2018 08:15

The Innkeeper wrote:

Q: How long is a piece of string
A: twice the distance from the middle

From the middle to where? The 2/3s line?

You mean “twice the distance from the middle TO THE END”.

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By zebaa
06th Oct 2018 11:44

Given the vague nature of the question I suggest you keep it simple.

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By Tim Vane
07th Oct 2018 13:43

You've come to the right place - I specialise in high value startups. At first glance I think you need at least one holding company, a second company to hold all the IP, a trading company to market ad space and separate subsidiaries for each niche website to ensure that assets in each are fully protected from the failure of others.
Initially that will be at least 6 or 7 different UK companies.

You'll also need at least one company that is registered overseas (I can get you a list of countries that will be helpful for this) and then I would recommend at least one Channel Islands company and a Swiss company for tax planning purposes. You'll need shadow directors and appointed executive directors in various locations and you will also need a good bank, possibly in Lichtenstein but we can discuss this more as the choice is important.

The initial setup costs are likely to be a few hundred thousand and there will obviously be ongoing costs, but the flexibility of this structure could save hundreds of millions in tax, so it is worth getting right up front - much harder to do and to justify down the line. This is all way above my paygrade but the idea is that I put you in touch with a couple of full service firms that will be able to help you with all the tax and legal aspects (my commission is paid by them so it won't cost you a bean for my time).

I assume you have investment in place but if you don't I can help with that too.

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Replying to Tim Vane:
ALISK
By atleastisoundknowledgable...
08th Oct 2018 08:17

“I put you in touch with a couple of full service firms that will be able to help you with all the tax and legal aspects ”

For a “few hundred thousand”, I’ll do that.

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Replying to Tim Vane:
ALISK
By atleastisoundknowledgable...
08th Oct 2018 08:18

@jh2067

Sound advice from Tim. My recommendation is to go with him. Think of the millions you will save in the long run.

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