Limited Liability Partnerships - Key features
An LLP has the following key features:
- It provides limited liability protection for its members;
- It has a separate legal entity from it’s members, with unlimited capacity and can therefore hold property, enter into contracts, sue or be sued in it's own right;
- An LLP has no directors or shareholders;
- It is not required to have a Memorandum & Articles of Association and It has a flexible internal structure generally based upon a Partnership agreement
- All members act as an agent for the LLP.
- An LLP is required to deliver annual accounts and submit an annual return to Companies House
Initially aimed at professional partnerships, such as accountants, architects and solicitors, an LLP will give many businesses another choice as to how they wish to operate. The more traditional form of partnership is arguably now inappropriate for many partnerships operating today. A significant rise in the incidence of litigation with the size of claims being awarded increasing beyond available Professional Indemnity Insurance cover together with a growth in the size of partnerships has caused increasing concern for both large and smaller partnerships alike.