What Are "shelf" Companies?

By Author: Diane Paz
Total Articles: 172
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Shelf companies are also called ready-made companies which are essentially offshore companies already registered by the Registered Agent and are just waiting "on the shelf" until their transfer to an interested client. A ready-made company is designed mainly for the purpose of time-saving instead of spending much time going through the full registration process of a new registration.
One other reason why you consider purchasing a shelf company is the occasional need for an offshore company that has already legally existing for some time -- for formalizing an existing de-facto deal, or for purely having a company that already has some age. This option has a variation called "vintage" or "aged" company. A vintage company may have been “on the shelf” for one or more years before its sale. If it can be shown that there is a genuine necessity that the company has actually been in legal existence for an extended period of time, the purchase of a vintage company is justified.

A regular shelf company costs usually the same as the new incorporation; on the other hand, a vintage company is substantially more expensive ...
... by reason of the following: government fees, registered office and registered agent fees for all the previous years since registration, plus the regular incorporation and document preparation fees.
The Registered Agent guarantees all shelf companies to have no "history" whatsoever – they have been completely dormant since incorporation, with documents staying the whole time at the Registered Agents´ office. If required, the Registered Agent can provide written guarantees to this extent.

Here are some of the reasons why shelf corporations can help protect & grow your businesses: owners can convert existing personal businesses into corporations, establish corporate history, trade lines, and protect personal credit and assets; owners can establish business trade lines in the business name instead of using their personal credit or loans; owners or entrepreneurs who want or need to acquire larger corporate credit lines.

If you already have a well-established business you can skip the first round provided you have built an accurate corporate profile and your trade lines appear on your company trade references.

You desire to secure your business’ unsecured lines of credit, Credit cards and trade. If you are looking to buy a home, car loans etc., you may want to separate the business from your personal credit. Do not allow your business to drop your personal buying power. A business should be able to stand on its own two feet.

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