WHO HAS AN INTEREST IN THE COMPANY?
• Shareholders- who are also known as members, make investments into the Company by buying shares in it and as such have a financial interest in it and are called members because of their shareholding. Rules relating to shareholders are quite complicated and if more than one shareholder, always, always get a shareholder’s agreement in place!

• Shares – The number of shares that can be issued in a Company is limited by the authorised capital, although this can be raised at any time and to any level, subject to agreement of the members. There is no set formula for how many shares to issue, except that at least one share must be issued on incorporation. In practice, this is usually quite easy since the shareholding of a Company determines its interest and “ownership”. Naturally, the more shares a person holds, the greater their rights are. For example, generally a holding of more than 50% of the issued shares in a Company will be sufficient to control the Company, determine the Board of Directors and the day to day running of the Company.