25-622: Southern Electric plc was a public limited energy company in the United Kingdom between 1990 and 1998, when it merged with Scottish Hydro-Electric plc to form Scottish and Southern Energy plc (now SSE plc ). The company had its origins in the southern England region of the British nationalised electricity industry . Created in 1948 as the Southern Electricity Board , in 1990 it was privatised by being floated on
50-624: A Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive were established by the United Kingdom Government under Prime Minister Tony Blair . The Department of Economic Development was renamed as the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and granted a reduced remit. DETI was therefore one of the six direct rule Northern Ireland departments that continued in existence after devolution in December 1999, following
75-490: A globally competitive economy." Its stated objective is to "encourage the development of a high value added, innovative, enterprising and competitive economy, leading to greater wealth creation and job opportunities for all." The department is responsible for the following policy areas: Some economic matters are reserved to Westminster and are therefore not devolved: In addition, some matters are excepted and were not intended for devolution: DfE's main counterparts in
100-474: A minimum share capital of £50,000 and usually with the letters PLC after its name. Similar companies in the United States are called publicly traded companies . A PLC can be either an unlisted or listed company on the stock exchanges . In the United Kingdom, a public limited company usually must include the words "public limited company" or the abbreviation "PLC" or "plc" at the end and as part of
125-587: A share capital may re-register as a plc, but a company without a share capital cannot do so. A private company must pass a special resolution that it be so re-registered and deliver a copy of the resolution together with an application form to the Registrar. The resolution must also: If it does not already have sufficient share capital, the company must issue £50,000 in shares a minimum of 25% part paid. Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment Lowercase "d" per here . The Department for
150-686: A single economic policy department within the Northern Ireland Executive , which would merge DETI and at least part of the Department for Employment and Learning . On 11 January 2012, the First Minister and deputy First Minister , Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness announced their intentions to abolish the Department for Employment and Learning. The department's functions would be "divided principally" between
175-448: A statutory declaration. This significantly speeds the process: the record at Companies House for the formation of an Electronic Company is 23 minutes. Because the electronic process requires compatible software that works with Companies House eFiling service, companies are usually formed through a Company Formation Agent. Every company must deliver an annual return to Companies House at least once every twelve months. It has 28 days from
200-564: The Department of Education and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment "in an agreed manner". The proposal was resisted by the Alliance Party , which viewed it as "power grab" by the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin , but was approved on 18 January 2012. No timescale for the abolition was outlined and the department remained in operation, as of late March 2012. DETI was heavily criticised by
225-698: The London Stock Exchange . The company originated as the Southern Electricity Board, created in 1948 as part of the nationalisation of the electricity industry by the Electricity Act 1947 . The board's assets passed in 1990 to Southern Electric plc, one of the fourteen public electricity suppliers , and that company was privatised in the same year. In 1998 the company merged with Scottish Hydro-Electric plc and became part of Scottish and Southern Energy . SSE used
250-660: The Northern Ireland Act 1998 and The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 . A devolved minister took office on 2 December 1999. Devolution was suspended for four periods, during which the department came under the responsibility of direct rule ministers from the Northern Ireland Office : Since 8 May 2007, devolution has operated without interruption. The Independent Review of Economic Policy, which reported in September 2009, recommended
275-640: The United Kingdom Government are: In the Irish Government , its main counterparts are: DfE has four agencies, established as non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), to assist in strategy implementation: A Ministry of Commerce was established at the foundation of Northern Ireland in June 1921, and was subsequently known as the Department of Commerce and Department of Economic Development under direct rule (introduced in March 1972). An economic ministry
SECTION 10
#1732802497606300-612: The "Southern Electric" name and logo for a time as a brand name for retail distribution of gas and electricity in the south of England, before replacing it with SSE branding. Following the purchase of SSE's retail business by OVO Energy in 2020, the Southern Electric brand is a trading name of OVO Electricity Limited. The key people on the board were: Chairman Henry Nimmo (1948–54), Chairman R.R.B. Brown (1964, 1967), Deputy Chairman W.B. Poulter (1964, 1967), full-time member A. W. Bunch (1967). The number of customers supplied by
325-515: The Economy ( DfE , Irish : An Roinn Geilleagair ) is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive . The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister for the Economy. DfE was renamed in 2016; it was previously called the Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment . DfE's overall aim is to "promote the development of
350-580: The Northern Ireland Audit Office for its mismanagement of a broadband scheme starting in 2004 and carried out by Bytel Networks, which saw Bytel receive over a million euros in a European Union grant for equipment that was never used. DETI subsequently sued Bytel in an attempt to reclaim more than four million euros. In 2016, the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal came to light which was a botched scheme that
375-554: The board was: The amount of electricity, in GWh, sold by the Southern Electricity Board over its operational life was: The Southern Electric name continues to be used by SSE's subsidiary Southern Electric Power Distribution plc , the distribution network operator in the south of England. In April 2013 the UK electricity market regulator OFGEM fined Southern Electric £10.5 million for breaches of conduct in relation to mis-selling, from
400-681: The cancellation, on Form 122, must reach Companies House within one month. No fee is payable to Companies House. 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: Bearer shares are no longer possible, as they were abolished in the UK by the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. Any existing bearer shares had to be converted to registered shares before February 2016, or face cancellation. A PLC has access to capital markets and can offer its shares for sale to
425-498: The date to which the return is made up to do this. Failure to file a return is a criminal offence, for which the officers of the company may be fined. There is an annual document-processing fee of £40 if filed by paper (or £13 for users of the Electronic Filing or WebFilings services), which must be sent to Companies House with the annual return. Both a private company limited by shares and an unlimited company with
450-448: The legal company name. Welsh companies may instead choose to end their names with ccc , an abbreviation for cwmni cyfyngedig cyhoeddus . However, some public limited companies (mostly nationalised concerns) incorporated under special legislation are exempted from bearing any of the identifying suffixes. The term "public limited company" and the "PLC"/"plc" suffix were introduced in 1981; prior to this, all limited companies bore
475-410: The public through a recognised stock exchange. It can also issue advertisements offering any of its securities for sale to the public. In contrast, a private company may not offer to the public any shares in itself. The following documents, together with the registration fee are sent to the Registrar of Companies: The key difference with the paper process is that there is no Form 12 and requirement for
500-525: The rest of the United Kingdom , have been handled by Companies House. Formation of a public limited company requires a minimum of two directors and one secretary (differing from country to country: in India three directors are required). In general terms anyone can be a company director, provided they are not disqualified on one of the following grounds: The members must agree to take some, or all, of
525-517: 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
SECTION 20
#1732802497606550-671: The suffix "Limited" ("Ltd."), which is still used by private limited companies . When a new company incorporates in England and Wales or in Scotland , it must register with Companies House , an executive agency of the Department for Business and Trade . Prior to October 2009, companies in Northern Ireland were registered with the Northern Ireland Executive 's Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment , but since then Northern Irish company registrations, as with those of
575-484: The top of the business down. Public limited company A public limited company (legally abbreviated to PLC or plc ) is a type of public company under United Kingdom company law , some Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland . It is a limited liability company whose shares may be freely sold and traded to the public (although a PLC may also be privately held, often by another PLC), with
600-544: 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
625-470: Was also included in the Northern Ireland Executive briefly established in 1974. The Department of Economic Development also incorporated elements of training and employment policy, now held by the Department for Employment and Learning . Following a referendum on the Belfast Agreement on 23 May 1998 and the granting of royal assent to the Northern Ireland Act 1998 on 19 November 1998,
#605394