holding a directorship, unless given leave to act in respect of a particular company or companies. in England and Wales (as of October 2008; Companies Act 2006) and in Scotland (Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act 1991), the person is under 16 years old. Share capital The members must agree to take some, or all, of the shares when the company is registered. The memorandum of association must show the names of the people who have agreed to take shares and the number of shares each will take. These people are called the subscribers. There is a minimum share capital for public limited companies: Before it can start business, it must have allotted shares to the value of at least £50,000. A quarter of them, £12,500, must be paid up. Each allotted share must be paid up to at least one quarter of its nominal value together with the whole of any premium. A company can increase its authorised share capital by passing an ordinary resolution (unless its articles of association require a special or extraordinary resolution). A copy of the resolution – and notice of the increase on Form 123 – must reach Companies House within 15 days of being passed. No fee is payable to Companies House. A company can decrease its authorised share capital by passing an ordinary resolution to cancel shares which have not been taken or agreed to be taken by any person. Notice of the cancellation, on Form 122, must reach Companies House within one month. No fee is payable to Companies House. Share types A company may have as many different types of shares as it wishes, all with different conditions attached to them. Generally share types are divided into the following categories: Ordinary – As the name suggests these are the ordinary shares of the company with no special rights or restrictions. They may be divided into classes of different value. Preference – These shares normally carry a right that any annual dividends available for distribution will be paid preferentially on these shares before other classes. Cumulative preference – These shares carry a right that, if the dividend cannot be paid in one year, it will be carried forward to successive years. Redeemable – These shares are issued with an agreement that the company will buy them back at the option of the company or the shareholder after a certain period, or