Charitable company

A charitable company is one of the long-established ways to give a charity legal personality — the ability to hold property, sign contracts and employ staff in its own name, with limited liability for trustees. It is usually a company limited by guarantee, and its trustees are also its company directors.

A charitable company is registered at Companies House and (above £5,000 income) the Charity Commission, and must prepare accruals accounts under the Charities SORP whatever its income. (Source: GOV.UK, How to set up a charity (CC21a); Companies Act 2006, accessed 9 July 2026.) That dual registration is the main practical difference from a CIO, which answers to the Commission alone.

Because company law requires ‘true and fair’ accounts, the simpler receipts and payments option is not open to companies. Compare the structures in the Trustee & Governance Handbook.