At the start of 2025, the UK had over 5.7 million businesses. Most of them (around 3 million) are sole traders with no employees. Many of those solely working for themselves may wonder about becoming more professional or turning their sole tradership into a company.

The next step up the ladder could be using a virtual office. But then the question arises: do you need a company before getting a virtual office?

No, you do not necessarily need an incorporated limited company before arranging a virtual office. They aren’t just for companies; freelancers, sole traders and people planning to set up a company can also use them, but the order these happen depends on how the address will be used.

What Is a Virtual Office?

A virtual office is a service that allows you to work remotely whilst giving you a professional business address and supporting services that are at a physical location.

Your professional address could be in the booming city centre whilst you work from your bedroom, giving your business a professional image. Services that come with a virtual office usually include:

• Mail handling
• Mail forwarding
• Business telephone support
• Mail scanning

A virtual office is different from a serviced office, which is a physical workspace located in a shared business hub with amenities at affordable prices and flexible conditions.

Mersey Bank Business Centre provides virtual office services, allowing you to establish your business in a professional area and enhance your credibility with clients.

Can You Get a Virtual Office Before Forming a Company?

You can sort out an eligible address for your business before incorporating a limited company. If you want to maintain more privacy, this can be handy, because if you use your home address as the company’s registered address, it will appear on Companies House and anyone can look it up.

Before you set up your virtual office as your registered address, check with your provider, as they must approve the customer and intended use of the address before it can be used. To be able to use a virtual office, you also need to complete identity and compliance checks.

Do Sole Traders Need a Virtual Office?

No, as a sole trader, you do not need to incorporate a company at Companies House.

Even though many don’t, some sole traders may want a professional correspondence address for many reasons.

• Privacy – Using a virtual office means that your home address is not publicly available.
• Credibility – Having an address in a professional setting gives your business a more professional image, making you more legitimate to clients and potential investors.
• Mail management – Virtual office providers often provide a number of mail services, including scanning, forwarding, and parcel handling to ensure organisation and convenience.
• Establishing a local presence – You can gain access to a prime business location without high costs, helping you get in the door of your chosen area.

If you are a sole trader and start using a virtual office, this doesn’t make you a limited company. That is a different process altogether.

Using a Virtual Office to Register a Limited Company

To set up a limited company, you have to provide an appropriate registered office address during the incorporation process that will appear on the Companies House website for public view.

In 2024, the rules for a registered office address changed. Using a PO box alone is no longer allowed. Instead, your registered office address must be a physical location, located in the correct UK jurisdiction and capable of receiving official correspondence.

If you want to use a virtual office provider’s address on Companies House or for other official purposes, you need to get permission from them.

At Mersey Bank, we allow our address to be used as a registered office and director service address, after the appropriate checks have been completed and permission established.

Registered Office, Service Address and Trading Address

If operating a business, there can be a lot of addresses involved. The three most common ones you’ll come across are registered office address, service address and trading address.

• Registered office address – This is the address that is listed on Companies House and can be found when people search for your business on the Companies House register.
• Service address – This is the official correspondence address for the company director, where statutory mail and legal notices are sent from HMRC, courts and Companies House.
• Trading address – This is the address where the day-to-day activities of the business take place.

If incorporating, as a director you will have to provide a residential address separately, but if using a different registered office address, it will be protected from the public register.

An approved virtual office address may serve all these functions, depending on the package and your provider’s terms.

What Should You Check Before Signing Up?

Before signing up for a virtual office, you should do your due diligence.

• Check that the provider’s location matches your UK jurisdiction so that you are compliant with Companies House and HMRC requirements.
• Confirm that company registration and director service-address use are included in the plan so you can incorporate more easily.
• Review mail collection, scanning and forwarding arrangements to see if they match your needs.
• Do an overview of the paperwork, checking for additional fees, contract terms and cancellation conditions so you don’t get caught out.Confirm when the address can legally begin to be used.
• Ask what identity and proof-of-address documents are required so you are ready for the process and it can move along as smoothly as possible.

What Order Should You Follow?

An order for having a virtual office for your company that is simple and won’t get you tangled up in any problems is as follows:

• Choose your preferred business structure.
• Find a virtual office service where you can use the address for your intended purposes.
• Complete the provider’s identity and compliance checks promptly.
• Get confirmation that the address is active and approved for your intended use.
  Incorporate the company using the approved address where needed.
• Update websites, invoices and other business materials so that your company details are displayed accurately.

With this approach, you’ll be able to confirm that the virtual office address is suitable for your purpose before you take any major steps towards incorporation.

Why Choose a Mersey Bank Virtual Office?

With Mersey Bank, you gain access to a professional Wallasey business address in a prime waterfront spot, located on Merseyside and close to the thriving business hub of Liverpool.

Our virtual office package comes with a range of services, including mail handling and forwarding, and call forwarding. All of this is available in flexible monthly packages with a dedicated local business phone number if needed.

You are also not limited to a virtual office. We have many available rooms, giving you the option to add a meeting room or physical workspace access to your package as your business grows.

Ready to Give Your Business a Professional Address?

Virtual offices provide a way for you to move your business into a more professional space without breaking the bank. If you are a company founder, sole trader or remote business looking to take the next step, explore Mersey Bank’s virtual-office packages and find the office solution perfect for you.

If you have any questions about our services, head over to our FAQ page and see if we have it covered.

Still have some questions? Talk to a team member today to confirm our address eligibility and complete the required checks before you take the step to incorporation.