Setting up share classes

What it does

A share class defines a kind of share your company has issued. It bundles together:

• A nominal value (par value per share — the bookkeeping anchor for share capital)
• Voting rights — does this class vote at general meetings?
• Dividend rights — is this class entitled to dividends?
• Liquidation preference — does this class get paid back first on a wind-up, and at what multiple?
• Authorised shares — an optional cap on how many can ever be issued

Most micro-entities have one class (Ordinary) at incorporation. You typically add a new class only when you raise an external round (Preferred A) or run a growth-share scheme.

How to use it

1. Go to Company → Share Classes
2. Click New class
3. Enter the class name (e.g. Ordinary)
4. Set nominal value — most modern UK companies use £0.01 or £0.001. Some legacy ones use £1.
5. Toggle voting rights and dividend rights as appropriate
6. Leave liquidation preference at 0 unless you're defining a preferred class
7. Leave authorised shares blank for unlimited (the default since the Companies Act 2006), or set a cap
8. Click Create class

Tips

• The class name appears on share certificates and statutory registers — match what's in your articles of association exactly.
• Nominal value is not the price you sell shares at. You can issue £0.01 nominal-value shares at £2.50/share — the £2.49 difference is share premium.
• Once a class has issued shares, you cannot delete it. Edit the name / rights instead, or buy back outstanding shares first.
• Multi-class preferences (anti-dilution, drag-along, ratchets) aren't in the basic class form yet — they're tracked in a separate Preferences field that lands in a later release.