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You should use these templates when you are incorporating a private limited company and want your internal rules to match how you actually plan to run the business. The default "model articles" can work, but they often do not reflect founder control, vesting expectations, or what happens if someone leaves after six months. Fixing this later is slower and more expensive because you are negotiating with people who already own shares.

They are also useful the moment you bring in another person with influence: a co-founder, an angel investor, a key employee with equity, or even a consultant who will be close to your strategy. Honestly, most disputes start because the deal was agreed in a pub and never written down. A short founders' or shareholders' agreement can prevent months of argument about dividends, decision-making, and who owns what.

Use these documents if you are sharing sensitive information before a contract is signed. Think product roadmaps, pricing models, customer data, supplier terms, or "we are about to raise" conversations. An NDA will not solve everything, but it does two practical things: it defines what is confidential, and it gives you a clear route to an injunction or damages if someone misuses it.

Finally, use them when you need to evidence a decision. Banks, accountants, and counterparties often ask for board minutes or written resolutions for routine matters: opening an account, approving a director's loan, entering a lease, or issuing shares. If you cannot produce the paperwork, the deal can stall even when everyone agrees in principle.

• Articles of association (private company limited by shares): Core constitutional documents setting out share rights, director powers, decision thresholds, and how meetings and written resolutions work.
• Shareholders' agreement / founders' agreement: A contract between shareholders covering reserved matters, transfers, leavers, dividends, deadlock, and how you handle future funding rounds.
• Non-disclosure agreement (NDA): Mutual and one-way options for discussions with investors, suppliers, freelancers, and potential buyers, including permitted disclosures and return/destruction clauses.
• Partnership agreement: Terms for unincorporated businesses trading as a partnership, including profit shares, decision-making, partner exit, and what happens on dissolution.
• Board minutes and written resolutions: Templates to document director and shareholder decisions, including share allotments, appointments/resignations, and approval of key contracts.
• Share issuance and transfer paperwork: Stock transfer forms, allotment documents, and supporting resolutions to keep your statutory registers and filings tidy.

For UK companies, the backbone is the Companies Act 2006. It covers incorporation, directors' duties, shareholder decision-making, and the company constitution (including articles). Your articles and any shareholders' agreement need to work together, not fight each other. A classic pitfall is granting rights in a shareholders' agreement that are not reflected in the articles, then discovering the company cannot practically deliver them without amending its constitution.

Directors should keep one eye on their statutory duties under ss.171-177 Companies Act 2006 (act within powers, promote the success of the company, avoid conflicts, and so on). That sounds theoretical until you are approving a director's loan, paying dividends, or signing a contract with a connected party. If you document the decision properly and record the reasoning, you reduce the risk of later allegations that the board acted improperly.

On confidentiality, remember that an NDA is only part of the picture. If you are sharing personal data (customer lists with names, emails, purchase history), UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 may apply, and you may need a data processing agreement, not just confidentiality wording. Also, some information cannot be "made confidential" just by labelling it; if it is already public, or independently developed, your NDA should reflect that or it will be hard to enforce.

A final practical point: Companies House compliance is not just about filing on time. Your internal records matter too. Statutory registers, share certificates, and properly signed resolutions are the boring bits that become urgent during fundraising, a sale, or a dispute. If you are issuing shares, check authority to allot, pre-emption rights, and whether you need shareholder approval. Missing one step can mean redoing the entire round.

• Drafted for English & Welsh law and aligned with Companies Act 2006 mechanics and common Companies House expectations.
• Lawyer-reviewed wording that focuses on real founder scenarios: leavers, deadlock, transfers, and control, not generic "legalese".
• Regular updates to reflect common practice changes (for example, how early-stage equity and decision-making are typically documented).
• Delivered in both Word and PDF so you can edit sensibly, then circulate a clean signing copy.
• Clear drafting notes where choices matter (mutual vs one-way NDA, reserved matters thresholds, good leaver vs bad leaver), so you do not guess.

Do I need a shareholders' agreement if we already have articles of association?

Often, yes. Articles are public and are mainly about company mechanics. A shareholders' agreement is private and can go further on commercial points like leaver provisions, vesting-style outcomes, information rights, and how you handle a founder who stops contributing. The two should be consistent, but they do different jobs.

Are these templates suitable for Companies House filings?

They are designed to fit the Companies Act 2006 framework and the kinds of documents Companies House and advisers expect to see. That said, Companies House only accepts certain forms for filings, and not every internal document is filed. Use the template to create the underlying approvals and records, then file the correct form where required.

Will an NDA actually protect my idea?

It can protect confidential information you disclose, but it does not give you a monopoly over an idea. The strongest NDAs are specific about what is confidential, who can see it, and what "permitted purpose" means. If your value is in code, brand, or designs, you may also need IP assignments, trade mark strategy, or tighter contractor terms.

We are starting as a partnership. What is the big risk?

The Partnership Act 1890 can apply by default, and it can produce outcomes you did not intend, such as equal profit shares or the partnership dissolving when a partner leaves. A written partnership agreement lets you set profit splits, decision rules, notice periods, and what happens to clients, equipment, and ongoing contracts when someone exits.