Transfer of shares

The transfer of shares in a company is a common occurrence. Shares, like other forms of property, can be transferred between individuals or companies at any time. This can be done for several reasons including:

• The sale of a company to new owners
• The transferring of shares to a spouse (maybe for tax efficiency)
• Transferring shares to children for passing over the reins of a business or as part of a tax strategy
• A transfer between business partners
• A transfer on the death of a shareholder
• A transfer of shares following a divorce or separation
• As part of a change in a corporate structure e.g the company becoming the subsidiary of another
• Selling shares to a new investor in the company

If shares are being sold for an amount of over £1000 then stamp duty needs to be paid by the person receiving the shares. If they are paying less than this, or the shares are being transferred as a gift, then there is no need to pay stamp duty.

The amount of stamp duty payable is 0.5% of the amount paid for the shares, rounded up to the nearest £5.

When the transfer form is signed and completed and any stamp duty has been paid and processed then the company will need to update its statutory registers. The transferor remains the holder of a share until the transferee’s name is entered in the register of members as the new holder.

Share certificates will also need updating with the old share certificate cancelled and new share certificates issued to the new shareholders.

Whether your transfer of shares is as a sale or as a gift, our cost-effective service takes the hassle out of the process. Our service includes everything required to transfer shares, all fully completed, compliant and delivered in hard copy and/or electronic copy.

Our service includes:

• Stock transfer form (sometime known as a J10 or J30 form), re transfer of shares.
• The processing and application of any appropriate stamp duty
• Minutes of a directors meeting for the company statutory books
• New share certificates (consolidated and numbered correctly)
• Complete set of updated company registers including the register of members 

It is also important that PSC (Person of Significant Control) details are kept up to date on the company registers and with Companies House when share ownership details change. We will make sure that all required PSC updates are completed and filed as part of our service.

This service can be combined with any other company secretarial jobs required. Please click below to purchase this service or to purchase this service with any other secretarial services.

Our normal charge for the transfer of shares is aprox £95 (plus any stamp duty payable). All companies are different, so we will need to look at the complexity and history of the company to make sure that the service can be completed as efficiently as possible. Please click on our quick quote below and we will be in touch as soon as possible with a no-obligation quote.