In April 2008 the Companies Act 2006 implemented a significant change for UK companies. This change now allows UK limited companies to operate with a sole director. The appointment of a company secretary was no longer legally required.

Any company registered after 6 April 2008 can now operate with a single director appointed as the only officer of the company. The responsibilities that previously fell upon the secretary become the directors by default.

For companies that are registered before 6 April 2008 it is likely that their Memorandum and Articles of Association still require the company to keep a company secretary appointed. It is important that you check your company’s constitutional documents before operating with no secretary.

A few important points to consider-

• Companies can still appoint a company secretary if required
• Where a secretary is appointed it may be a natural person or a corporate entity
• A company director can appoint themselves as secretary also but it may be argued that this is not necessary
• You can still appoint more than one director
• Companies registered before April 2008 may need to adopt new articles of association if they wish to remove the requirment for the company to have a secretary