The weird world of Companies House

"Welsh Buttocks", "Liquid Crack" and "Dog Tits Bakery" were just three of the proposed company names turned down by Companies House last year.

A freedom of information request seen by the Financial Times's Alphaville blog showed that Companies House turned down nearly 800 suggested names in the year to April 2023 because they might offend a "reasonable person".

Which names were banned?

The "vast majority" of the banned names involved "swear words, sex-related obscenities or drugs", and other rejected names featured references to "hacking, paedophilia, violence or hate speech" such as "racism, sexism and homophobia".

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The "naughty list" includes "Crappy Nappy", "Scorpio Bastardo", "The People's Dankest Cannabis Company" and the rather lengthy "I Could Tell that My Parents Hated Me. My Bath Toys Were a Toaster and a Radio".

Companies House said that all applications are "carefully considered", but it will not register a name that is "considered offensive". The test is "whether a reasonable person would take offence".

But the government agency is using an "overly rigid assessment style", Nicholas Campion, a director at 1st Formations, a leading company formation agent, told the FT. "By only focusing on possible negative meanings, Companies House is curtailing legitimate companies from registering company names that match their business activities and trading names, as allowed by the likes of the Advertising Standards Agency."

What other naming rules are there?

Your proposed name cannot be the "same as" or "too similar" to that of another registered company. For instance, Companies House says that "Hands UK Ltd" and "Hand's Ltd" are the same as "Hands Ltd". Also, "Easy Electrics For You Ltd" is too similar to "EZ Electrix 4U Ltd".

A company name cannot suggest a connection with government or local authorities, unless you have permission. So to use "Accredited" in your company's name, you would need permission from the Department for Business and Trade.

Nor can you use a word or expression implying a connection with a devolved administration or a local or specified public authority. There are full guidelines on the Companies House website.

What about scammers?

Despite these rules, scammers still find their way through. In February celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal called on Companies House to act with greater urgency in tackling fraud after an investigation revealed hundreds of fake firms have been set up using restaurant names. A company was registered with the name "Dinner by Heston Blumenthall", adding an extra "l" to the surname, said Restaurant.

Last year, Companies House vowed to crack down on criminals who abuse the companies register after the Mail on Sunday revealed that tens of thousands of people had seen companies set up in their name by fraudsters, who then used the details to take out loans or con consumers.

In Hinckley, Leicestershire, 21 homes were targeted by overseas criminals who registered them as their official UK base, and in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, 80 fake companies were registered to properties on one street.

Announcing new powers to stamp out fraudulent information registered by scammers, Kevin Hollinrake, the then minister for enterprise, markets and small business at the Department for Business and Trade, said: "This country has been fair game for criminals who abuse our system to register fraudulent companies for far too long."

Writing on This Is Money, Hollinrake said he had "heard terrible stories of innocent people whose home addresses have been used fraudulently to register companies" or who "find themselves unwittingly appointed as directors of bogus firms they've never even heard of".

How do you set up a UK company?

You can register it via post or on the Companies House website.

You'll need at least three pieces of personal information about yourself and your shareholders or guarantors – for example, place of birth, mother's maiden name or your passport number.

It costs £50 to register a company and it can usually be done within 24 hours – provided you don't choose a rude name.