Starting a group of companies comes with several regulatory requirements which we will consider below:

1. You must apply to the Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission for consent to use the word “Group”. There are certain words you can’t use on your company name without obtaining consent from the Commission. Some of them are; “Group”, “Holding”, “Municipal”, “Building Society”, and “Co-operative”.

2. You must provide evidence of not less than 3 associate companies with similar names. All 3 companies MUST be registered as Limited Liability Companies to form the Group/Parent Company.

3. Evidence of common membership of associate companies. What this means is that the names of all Directors, Secretary, and Shareholders of all 3 companies MUST be one and the same.

4. All Directors of the 3 companies MUST give their consent to form a Group company, by way of a written resolution.

5. Statements by the majority of the directors of the proposed Group company that the share capital of the company shall not be less than the highest share capital of the 3 (three) existing associate companies. Simply put, the shares of the proposed “Group” must exceed the highest share capital of all 3 associate companies or subsidiaries.

6. Annual returns of all 3 associate companies. Duly paid from the year of registration till date.

Starting a group of companies requires a great deal of consideration and adherence to legal compliance. If you will like to restructure your business into a group of companies or start a group of companies, you may reach out to us here and we will be delighted to assist you.