Types of ownership Both Cadburys and Sainsbury's and plc’s (public

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Types of ownership Both Cadburys and Sainsbury's and plc’s (public

limited companies). Company registered as a plc under t

Types of ownership

Both Cadburys and Sainsbury's and plc’s (public limited companies).

Company registered as a plc under the provisions of the Companies Act

1980. The company’s name must carry the words ‘public limited company’

or initials ‘plc’ and must have authorized share capital over £50,000,

with £12,500 paid up – paid to the company by the shareholders. Plc’s

may offer shares to the public and are more tightly regulated than

limited companies. Converting a private limited company into a public

one has advantages, such as the ability to raise share capital.

However, it does have potential disadvantages, such as being subject

to the scrutiny of the financial media and city analysts (the

company’s financial records must be available for any member of the

public to scrutinize). If the founder of a plc perceives the company

share price to undervalue the company they may take the company

private once more, as Richard Branson did with Virgin in 1989.Selling

shares means that you can raise money quickly. A disadvantage of

selling shares is that it is very expensive. Limited companies are

owned by shareholders. These are people who own shares in the company.

Shares are the parts into which the value of the company is divided.

So if a business is valued at £100 million and there are 200 million

shares, each share will be worth 50 pence.

All shareholders have limited liability. They are only liable for the

amount they have put into the business. If a company closes down,

shareholders can only lose the money they have invested. They will not

be liable for anything else.

Limited companies are owned by their shareholders. Large limited

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