Formation options and current pricing
There are three main routes to incorporating a UK limited company. The table below shows the current headline costs for each option. Prices and availability change, so verify current figures on the relevant provider's own pages before starting.
| Option | Headline cost | What is included | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tide company formation | £14.99 one-off | Incorporation + Tide business account opening in one flow. Standard limited company structure. | New limited companies that want to incorporate and bank in a single session. |
| Tide + Company Secretary | £1 incorporation + ongoing Company Secretary subscription | Incorporation at £1 plus a Company Secretary service for ongoing statutory compliance (confirmation statements, registered office, statutory registers). | Businesses that want low-cost incorporation plus ongoing statutory compliance support included. |
| Companies House direct (online) | £100 one-off | Incorporation only. No account, no ongoing support. Fastest route for a company number alone. | Businesses that already have a bank account or want to choose their account separately after incorporating. |
What Tide company formation includes
Tide's company formation service covers the incorporation of a standard UK limited company — registering it with Companies House — and connects directly into the Tide business account opening flow. You provide the proposed company name, registered office address, director and shareholder details, and Tide handles the Companies House submission. Once Companies House approves the incorporation (usually within a working day, though not guaranteed), you receive your certificate of incorporation and company number, and continue into the account application using the newly formed company's details.
The formation service covers straightforward standard limited company structures. It is not suited to more complex structures such as multiple share classes, non-standard articles of association, or companies requiring specialist legal input. Those situations typically need a solicitor or specialist formation agent regardless of which bank you use.
What Tide + Company Secretary includes
Tide also offers a Company Secretary service alongside formation, available at a lower incorporation cost (£1) plus an ongoing subscription. The Company Secretary service handles ongoing statutory compliance obligations: filing confirmation statements, maintaining statutory registers, providing a registered office address and managing other routine Companies House requirements that a director is legally responsible for but can delegate.
This option is particularly useful for first-time directors who are unfamiliar with the ongoing statutory obligations of running a limited company, or for businesses that want those obligations handled automatically rather than tracked manually. The ongoing subscription cost should be compared against the cost of using an accountant or company secretarial service separately.
What Companies House direct includes
Incorporating directly via Companies House online costs £100 and gives you a company number and certificate of incorporation. It does not include a business bank account, company secretarial support, or any ongoing service. It is the lowest-cost option if you only need the company itself and already have a bank account — but at £100, it is more expensive than Tide's £14.99 formation fee, which includes a business bank account.
The Companies House online service is straightforward for standard limited company incorporations and is the route most accountants use when incorporating on behalf of a client. The £100 fee is paid directly to Companies House and is not refundable if the application is rejected.
How it works step by step (Tide formation flow)
- Provide company details — proposed name, registered office address, directors and shareholders.
- Submit the incorporation application through Tide's formation flow, which handles the Companies House submission.
- Once Companies House approves incorporation (usually within a working day, though not guaranteed), you receive your certificate of incorporation and company number.
- Continue into the Tide account application using the newly formed company's details, avoiding re-entering everything from scratch.
- Complete standard business account verification and identity checks for the account itself.
- If using REFER200, ensure the code is applied at the account opening step — the formation step itself is separate from the offer.
A worked example
A freelance consultant decides to incorporate as a limited company rather than continue as a sole trader, mainly for tax planning reasons agreed with her accountant. She uses Tide's £14.99 formation service to incorporate and open her Tide business account in one session, rather than paying £100 to Companies House directly and then separately applying for a bank account. The combined flow saves time and avoids re-entering company details across two separate processes. She applies the REFER200 code during the account opening step and qualifies for the cashback offer in the normal way.
A second example: a contractor forming their first limited company wants ongoing statutory compliance handled without thinking about it. They use the Tide + Company Secretary option at £1 incorporation plus the ongoing subscription, delegating confirmation statement filing and registered office maintenance to the service.
Relationship to the REFER200 offer
Company formation and account opening are two different steps for offer purposes. The REFER200 campaign attaches to opening the Tide business current account, not to the formation service itself. A newly formed company going on to open its account through this flow can still be eligible for the offer in the normal way, subject to the standard eligibility and terms that apply to any new account opening. The formation fee (£14.99) is not a qualifying transaction for either the card spend or Instant Saver reward steps.