Nominee Shareholder Services
When registering a private company, there are numerous considerations to address, one of which involves appointing individuals to fulfill the roles of director, shareholder, and company secretary. These roles are legal requirements for establishing a company; however, founders may encounter challenges in filling these positions or may prefer not to publicly disclose their involvement. In such instances, founders may seek nominee services, particularly nominee shareholder services.
A nominee shareholder is an individual or entity that serves as the shareholder on behalf of the actual shareholder. This arrangement allows the nominee’s name to appear on the share certificate and public documentation, thereby ensuring the anonymity of the beneficial owner.
It is important to note that utilizing a nominee shareholder service does not entail relinquishing any legal rights to the shares as a beneficial owner. The nominee's name is used solely as a placeholder for the actual shareholder. To safeguard the beneficial owner’s investment, the nominee shareholder is required to sign relevant documentation affirming this arrangement. Consequently, the beneficial owner retains legal ownership of the shares and continues to receive any income and dividends generated from those shares.
The benefits of using a nominee shareholder for a company registration include:
Anonymity – it may be that the actual owner of the shares doesn't, for whatever reason, want their name or address to be listed on public record as a shareholder. If someone invests in a number of organisations they may not want their investments to be on public record so appointing a nominee shareholder is the perfect solution. Remaining anonymous may be a requirement for personal reasons, such as a desire to keep their home address off public records. There may also be commercial reasons involved, such as keeping their name off record for the benefit of themselves and the company.
