Creating a Community Interest Company

Forming Community Interest Companies (CIC) is the new and popular solution for small and medium sized Social Enterprise ventures. With less red tape than a full Charity registration, CIC is specifically intended for social and community enterprises.

Being recognised as a Social Enterprise.

Any company can act in the community interest if the directors decide it should...

but the only way a limited liablility venture can gain recognition as a truly not-for-profit operation is to register as a Community Interest Company, a Company Limited by Guarantee or a Charity Limited by Guarantee. The CIC format (Community Interest Company) is the most recent to be made available and has quickly gained popularity for small and medium sized not-for-profit ventures.

Charities must be established exclusively for charitable purposes, but a Community Interest Company can be established for any lawful purpose as long as its activities are carried on for the benefit of the community.

To register today contact us on 0117 370 2725.

Your aims as a CIC

Community Interest - Aims and Objectives

Our job in creating your CIC is to turn your ideas and plans into legal documents that will be accepted for formal registration as a Community Interest Company. Make notes on your vision, aims and intentions and tell us about it in plain English. We can offer suggestions, but it's your ideas that matter.

The constitutional documents for your CIC (called Memorandum & Articles of Association) must state the Aims of the organisation. Only you can say what you intend, but we have put together some examples to show how it is done.

Shares or Guarantee?

A communuty Interest Company may be "limited by shares" or "limited by guarantee" and you must make that choice before ordering. It is not possible to convert from one to the other after the company has been registered. The difference between the two is the status of the owners or controllers. We have prepared a special article to help you choose between the two options, but here is a summary of the key issues:

In a CIC "limited by shares" the owners will each hold one or more shares, just as they would in a normal profit making business. They can have any amount of shares and can each hold a different number, thereby defining the degree of control or ownership that each of them holds. Each shareholder has as many votes as they have shares (e.g. 5 shares = 5 votes). They may receive a dividends (subject to the CIC Regulator's scrutiny).

In a CIC "limited by guarantee" the controllers will be called Trustees and will each commit to a cash guarantee that would have to be paid if the company were to fail. The guarantee is normally set at just £10 each. Each Trustee has one vote. Decisions in a committee of Trustees/Directors are made strictly on a one-person-one-vote basis. No dividend can be paid.

To choose which type of CIC you want, consider whether your plans for the company look more like a business or more like a charity. If it is more like a business then it will probably be better to choose a CIC limited by shares. If it looks more like a charity it will probably be best to register a CIC limited by guarantee. For a more detailed explanation see our separate article on "CIC with shares vs guarantee". If you need help call us by phone, send us an email or use out online chat service (see right hand column).

CRB Checks

If your organisation plans to do any work with young or vulnerable people it must have a procedure for obtaining proper criminal record checks. The CIC Regulator will ask about that, so avoid registration delays by making sure you have the answer ready. Tell us about your precedures for obtaining CRB checks and which agency you use to make those checks.

CIC regulation is strict

but not as strict as it is for a registered charity. This relatively new company type is increasingly recognised by funding bodies as a well-regulated structure for not-for-profit ventures. The CIC format was specifically designed to provide a purpose-built legal framework and a "brand" identity for social enterprises that want to adopt the limited company form

If you already have a company

...you can convert it into a Community Interest Company in order to gain recognition as a Social Enterprise. You must be clear about your intentions, because the CIC Regulator will expect operations and reporting to be entirely consistent with your stated aims as a CIC. But, once your decision is made and you place your order with us, we will handle the entire process of converting your LTD to a CIC.

£160.75 (£145 + VAT)

fill out a form online

or


download a form
to order by post or email

or


give us a call on
0117 370 2725

	a sports or social club can also form a CIC
	a political group or a registered charity cannot form a CIC

For lists of existing Community Interest Companies and for more information visit the CIC Regulator's website

When you order a company we can help you apply for your business bank account...