New regulations have been made which set out the words and expressions which may not be used in a company’s name without prior approval.
Section 55(1) of the Companies Act 2006 states that the approval of the Secretary of State (in practice acting by Companies House) is required for a company to be registered with a name that includes a word or expression that is specified in regulations made under that section. The new regulations replace the Company and Business Names Regulations 1981 and came into force on 1 October 2009. They apply to companies and LLPs.
See The Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business Names (Sensitive Words and Expressions) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/2615), available at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2009/pdf/uksi_20092615_en.pdf, together with an explanatory memorandum available at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2009/em/uksiem_20092615_en.pdf.
Companies House guidance is available at http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/about/gbhtml/gp1.shtml which sets out what evidence will be required and what tests need to be satisfied before Companies House will consent to the use of particular words and phrases.
