In a globalized Europe in which everything is merging together,
especially the economies, and keeping pace with the rapid development of
the Internet, one can ill afford not to take a look at the Limited
company. The English Limited seems to be an alternative to the German
GmbH. In the course of groundbreaking decisions, made by the European
Court of Justice, a new legal platform for economic activity is made
available in Germany. So far, it seems to be an attractive one. The fast
and uncomplicated establishment of the company, as well as the rather
liberal rules of capitalization, are typically perceived as advantages
of the Limited compared to the German GmbH. However, the limited - being
a foreign type of company - is, first of all, an alien element in the
German legal system (Just 2005, Preface). There are many questions to be
answered and there is, additionally, a certain amount of legal
uncertainty to be reasoned with concerning the decision of whether or
not to choose the limited over the German GmbH. Also, the peculiarities,
perspectives and risks of the limited are widely unknown to the general
public. The purpose of this book is to provide an analysis of how an
English private company limited by shares based in Germany may offer an
alternative to German forms of business organization for entrepreneurs.
The perspectives and risks that come hand in hand with such an
establishment will also be interpreted. To begin with, I will shortly
explain the history of British companies. This is then followed,
firstly, by an overview of the types of companies in England, and,
secondly, the two types of businesses known to British company law in
which liability may be limited to the paid-in company assets. A
discussion of the new rulings of the European Court of Justice (ECJ),
followed by the topics of freedom of establishment, incorporation theory
and real seat theory are also presented. The next chapter explicitly
examines establishment and management of the limited ac
