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Free UK business tool

UK Business Structure Comparison Tool

Answer five practical questions. See which structures deserve a closer look and what each option could mean for risk, ownership and administration.

1.How many owners or principals do you expect?
2.How much operating or contractual risk will the business carry?
3.How do you expect to fund growth?
4.How do you feel about governance and administration?
5.What do you expect to do with available profit?

How the comparison works

Five answers, four structures, one shortlist.

01

Answer five questions

Ownership, risk, funding, administration and what you plan to do with profit. No email address, no sign-up.

02

Get a weighted shortlist

Each structure is scored against your answers, so you see the strongest match plus the alternatives worth comparing, with watch-outs for each.

03

Pressure-test it with an adviser

Take the shortlist to a lawyer and accountant, confirm the tax position, then put the registrations and documents in place.

Use the result as a shortlist

The right structure has to work as a complete system.

Tax and taking money out

income tax, corporation tax, VAT and profit extraction need advice based on your actual numbers and plans.

Liability in practice

Insurance, personal guarantees, licences, director duties and your contracts can change the risk.

Ownership and exits

The structure must fit who owns the business, who controls decisions and what happens when someone leaves.

Documents and registrations

The registrations, governing documents and owner agreements need to match the structure you choose.

FAQs

Common questions about choosing a structure

Still weighing it up? Book a free call with our team.

No. It ranks sole trader, ordinary partnership, LLP and private limited company structures from your five answers so you have a shortlist for discussion. The right structure depends on tax, licensing, asset ownership and your documents, so confirm the choice with a solicitor and accountant before acting.

Yes, and moving from sole trader to a limited company is one of the most common changes as a business grows. Restructuring has legal and tax consequences, though, because contracts, assets, registrations and branding all need to be transferred properly to the new entity.

A sole trader can register with HMRC for free. Incorporating a limited company or LLP involves a small Companies House fee, and both need governing documents that match how the owners actually want to work together, such as articles, a shareholders agreement or an LLP agreement.

Not always, but the documents need to match the structure you choose. Shareholders agreements, partnership agreements, LLP agreements and articles are where the structure choice becomes enforceable. Sprintlaw prepares these for fixed fees.

Your next step

Choose the structure, then make the documents match it.

Sprintlaw can help you compare the legal trade-offs and put the setup in place for the UK.