The Main Features of a Public Limited Company as a Form of Ownership

Shareholders own a PLC (Public Limited Company). By this I mean the

people with an investment in the PLC own it. For Example you can buy

shares in J Sainsbury’s plc, via the stock market. However the

shareholder that has a larger percentage of shares than all other

shareholders put together i.e. 51%, has 51% of the vote if there is a

vote, he/she has the most power.

The Capital needed to start a Public Limited Company could come from 2

different places. By this I mean that some of the money comes from a

loan from the bank, and the rest comes from shares sold to the public,

via the stock market. For Example 28% of J Sainsbury plc’s Share

Capital came from Lord Sainsbury. However £50,000 is needed to start a

PLC.

Limited Liability means that you are only liable for the business and

not any of your own belongings. By this I mean that if I were in debt

of £60,000 I would have to lose my business because my capital of

£50,000 is now all gone. For Example J Sainsbury plc have a Share

capital of £18,441,000,000. However if you see your share prices

falling you can always appoint a new director.

Dividend is paid out using the profits from a PLC. By this I mean that

the profit is divided into percentages and is paid out to

shareholders. So if there was £10,000 profit and I owned 20% shares

then I would receive £2,000. For Example if J Sainsbury plc were in

profit of £500,000 and I had 5% of shares then I would receive £25,000

dividend. However the lower the percentage of shares you have the

lower your dividend is going to be.

The Board of Directors makes decisions in the PLC. By this I mean

Shareholders elect a Board of Directors, their job is to run the