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What is a company director?

Last updated: 09 March 2022

What is a company director?

In this guide, we look at what is a company director in relation to a UK Limited company.

 

Basic

  • Company directors are the people responsible for the day to day running of a Limited company
  • A company director does not own the company. The shareholders own the company (could be the same person)
  • Anybody over the age of 16 may be a company director

The job of a director

  • The company director is responsible for the management and running of the company
  • Legally you must attempt to make the company successful and act in the interests of the company
  • You are legally responsible for the company. If the company breaks the law, you can be held accountable

Who can be a director

  • You must be over 16 to become a company director
  • You may not be a director if there is a legal measure preventing you. This can happen if you have been involved in illegal activities or if you have mismanaged a company
  • Undischarged bankrupts can generally not become company directors

Powers of a director

  • The powers and responsibilities of a director are company specific
  • They should be defined in the company’s Articles of Association
  • The directors are generally empowered to act on all matters on behalf of the company, though some matters may require a general meeting and shareholder voting

Types of director

  • Managing director, creative director, operations director….what is the difference?
  • The director part is significant as it creates your responsibility for the company
  • The flavour of director is arbitrary and is used semantically to describe a role; they have no formal legal basis unless defined in your companies Articles

Director privacy

  • Directors are recorded at Companies House as the role makes you a member or officer of the company
  • Your home address, age, occupation are available to anybody
  • You may use a directors service address to protect your home address information

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