{"id":9947,"date":"2023-03-18T16:03:30","date_gmt":"2023-03-18T16:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qualitycompanyformations.co.uk\/blog\/?p=9947"},"modified":"2024-02-15T09:11:43","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T09:11:43","slug":"shareholder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qualitycompanyformations.co.uk\/blog\/shareholder\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a shareholder?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A shareholder is a person who owns a minimum of one share in a company with share capital (e.g. a company limited by shares). Depending on the types of shares they own, shareholders can vote on certain corporate matters and receive dividend payments from company profits.<\/p>\n

Below, we explain exactly what it means to be a shareholder, including the rights and responsibilities of the role, who can own shares, and how to add or remove shareholders from a UK limited company.<\/p>\n

What is the role of a company shareholder?<\/h3>\n

Shareholders are individual people or corporate bodies who own a stake in a limited company. Upon taking one or more shares, the person becomes a \u2018member\u2019 of the company.<\/p>\n

If and when the business makes a profit, members are entitled to a portion of those profits relative to the percentage value of their shareholdings. These profits are paid to members in the form of dividends.<\/p>\n

However, the role of a company shareholder is about more than receiving profits. Whilst they are not responsible for managing the day-to-day affairs of the business, shareholders do have certain duties to fulfil, including:<\/p>\n