Company trading as different name
Discussion
Just out of curiosity, I wonder if someone would be kind enough to explain how businesses with one name trade as another and if there are any benefits or disadvantages of this.
If a company is registered as say - Blackbird Bunny Boilers Limited, can it then trade as say Bigbird. Note the lack of Limited in the trading name.
Why would a company do that and are there problems with that?
The reason I ask is that I've been dealing with a supplier, great supplier, very happy with them but I've just found out by accident that they're registered under a completely different name than what they trade under with us as.
Other than their VAT number, I can't find anything linking the 2 businesses.
If a company is registered as say - Blackbird Bunny Boilers Limited, can it then trade as say Bigbird. Note the lack of Limited in the trading name.
Why would a company do that and are there problems with that?
The reason I ask is that I've been dealing with a supplier, great supplier, very happy with them but I've just found out by accident that they're registered under a completely different name than what they trade under with us as.
Other than their VAT number, I can't find anything linking the 2 businesses.
We traded under our ltd name for 15years with no issue, then within 18months 5 other companies with similar names popped up - we were getting contacted thinking we were them, so they must of been getting ours as well.
Changed to a totally different name that would be very hard to copy, but keep our LTD details on all estimated and invoices.
Changed to a totally different name that would be very hard to copy, but keep our LTD details on all estimated and invoices.
Eric Mc said:
A limited company doesd not have to use its formal company name for trading purposes. However, it is always obliged to show the company name on its invoices and its website.
The supplier we are dealing with makes no mention of their limited company name on either its website or its invoices. We only found out their registered limted company name due to one of their suppliers inadvertently sending us documentation which was destined to them.So is our supplier acting illegally in keeping this information in effect hidden?
Pistom said:
Why would a company do that and are there problems with that?
It's called parallel branding and is very common.One of the more common reasons is to appeal to different types of markets with what is fundamentally the same offer. The most obvious example of this is Toyota and Lexus. Rolex and Tudor are another. You also see examples where, for example, one company has a brand that promotes to trade and another to the general public. This allows them to price their products and offer differently according to the market that's being targeting.
Another example is if a company wants to try something new but there's a risk that if it fails, it could cause reputational damage to the firm. Doing that thing under a different brand can protect them from that.
It's also common to find a company that sells something it makes trade under a different name when it comes to servicing its products. This means that they can service products that they haven't made thus increasing their potential market.
Pistom said:
Why would a company do that and are there problems with that?
Take a look at the bottom of the page...© 1998 to 2023 Pistonheads Holdco Limited, All Rights Reserved
PistonHeads® is a registered trademark of CarGurus Ireland Limited
Incidentally, when PetrolTed owned PistonHeads it was "PetrolHeads Limited t/a PistonHeads"
Clockwork Cupcake said:
Take a look at the bottom of the page...
© 1998 to 2023 Pistonheads Holdco Limited, All Rights Reserved
PistonHeads® is a registered trademark of CarGurus Ireland Limited
Thanks - that's fine as it's all open and above board but the trading name which caused me to ask the question really seems to have no sign of the limited company anywhere other than checking their VAT number.© 1998 to 2023 Pistonheads Holdco Limited, All Rights Reserved
PistonHeads® is a registered trademark of CarGurus Ireland Limited
Eric is indicating that such practice is not really legitimate.
If I'm being totally honest - probably the real reason I was asking in the first place is that I set up a company a while ago which might have benefited being under the radar the same way our supplier seems to be trading and I was wondering over the legitimacy of it. Trading as Big Dongs with a traceable limited company splashed on websites and invoices wasn't going to help so we may as well have set up as Big Dongs Ltd.
But seeing as that boat has sailed - the question was out of curiosity.
Thanks for all the replies everyone - especially Eric who is always super quick to answer my questions here.
Lack of the supply of the correct information is not usually a sign of bad intent, in 99.9% of the time it's just muppetry.
I spent 40 years wading in the mire of SMEs and I'd estimate more than 50% of invoices/orders/websites/brochures are missing something that is required by some law or other. (not by design, but by simple ignorance)
...and being a monster PLC doesn't necessarily make for a muppet free zone
I spent 40 years wading in the mire of SMEs and I'd estimate more than 50% of invoices/orders/websites/brochures are missing something that is required by some law or other. (not by design, but by simple ignorance)
...and being a monster PLC doesn't necessarily make for a muppet free zone
Pistom said:
Thanks - that's fine as it's all open and above board but the trading name which caused me to ask the question really seems to have no sign of the limited company anywhere other than checking their VAT number.
Eric is indicating that such practice is not really legitimate.
Eric is correct there. It is a legal requirement for companies using a "trading as" name to identify the underlying company name. Especially on invoices. Eric is indicating that such practice is not really legitimate.
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
Lack of the supply of the correct information is not usually a sign of bad intent, in 99.9% of the time it's just muppetry.
I spent 40 years wading in the mire of SMEs and I'd estimate more than 50% of invoices/orders/websites/brochures are missing something that is required by some law or other. (not by design, but by simple ignorance)
...and being a monster PLC doesn't necessarily make for a muppet free zone
You're not wrong there. I had a bugger of a job getting a VAT invoice off a VAT-registered company a while back. They couldn't get it through their heads that if they are VAT-registered then they must provide a VAT Invoice when requested to.I spent 40 years wading in the mire of SMEs and I'd estimate more than 50% of invoices/orders/websites/brochures are missing something that is required by some law or other. (not by design, but by simple ignorance)
...and being a monster PLC doesn't necessarily make for a muppet free zone
(I am aware there is some Case Law floating around somewhere that throws doubt on this, although my understanding is that you must)
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