when shares are sold privately the amount of capital raised might be restricted because offering shares to the public opens up the possibility of much more funding this also restricts any opportunity for growth a company might want because the pool of investors is limited 
the costs for setting up a limited company are generally higher than those of sole traders in the u k and sole proprietorships in the u s these entities are small businesses that are only required to register to conduct business thus incurring much lower costs in the u k both public and private companies have to file financial statements that are available to the public this is different to the u s where private companies financial statements are indeed private there are disadvantages to having your company s financial statements publicly available not least because your competitors can find out a lot about your business there is some relief from these rules for smaller ltd companies in the u k which are allowed to file abbreviated accounts that do not show much information running a business as a limited company requires a time consuming process that requires the owners to follow accounting principles tax filing requirements administration requirements and stricter employee regulations regarding benefits ownership is diversified among shareholderspersonal assets are protectedpotential tax advantagesprivately sold shares limit capital raisinghigher starting costsstricter accounting and administrative requirements