Side hustles, start-ups and other virtual businesses looking to avoid fixed premises costs need to make sure they have a mailing address where everyone can reach them. 

Many companies use so-called ‘virtual’ addresses to avoid using their home address on business correspondence or on the public register at Companies House, but many mail handling services restrict their service to cover only identifiably ‘official’ correspondence such as from HMRC or Companies House.  

The National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSI) has recently been implemented in the UK for the purposes of protecting national security by enabling the government to analyse and, if necessary, intervene in investments or acquisitions which could threaten national security.

For those of you who have read Bad Blood by John Carryou you will have been horrified by the true story of lies and deceit by the Theranos tech start-up company in California that raised about $700m from VC’s and private investors.

No one can tell the future, but at this time of year we can indulge in some crystal ball gazing!

In March of this year, the Financial Ombudsman ordered an investment-based Crowdfunding platform to repay a customer his investment on the basis that they had not provided enough information surrounding the details of the investment. This article explores that decision and outlines what measures might be taken by a platform to prevent similar findings.