Contractors' Questions: Can I set up a UK ‘Ltd’ without a UK address?

Contractor’s Question: I would like to form a limited company in the UK, but I don't have a physical address in UK. Please suggest how I might proceed.

Expert’s Answer: Setting up a limited company in the UK is easy while you are not living in the country, but the challenge is opening a bank account for which you have to be a resident in the UK. In fact, most high-street banks aren’t keen on opening accounts for individuals who are not UK residents. And although there are a few banks which may be able to open account based on your non-resident status, these are specialist banks and the charges they impose can be quite high to manage such accounts.

Another solution is to find a director in the UK who can help you set up the company and bank account on the basis that you would become a controlling director and shareholder. Once this set-up is complete, you could then manage the business.

The expert was Sumit Agarwal, managing director at contractor accountancy firm DNS Associates.