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A shareholder is a person or a business who owns shares in a limited company. It’s possible to be the sole shareholder (so you own all of the shares) in your own company. You don’t necessarily need to have bought them.
Yes – anyone can buy shares in a limited company. You’re considered a shareholder if:
If you’re a sole trader, you’re not a shareholder in your business. This is because you and your business are one. But a limited company is a completely separate entity in which you can hold shares.
If you’re in a business partnership, you’re also not classed as a shareholder. Partnerships are basically a way for sole traders to work together. Both you and your partner will need to file (separate) Self Assessment tax returns, but you won’t have separate debts and assets.
We’ve come up with a handy way to remember the difference between a shareholder and a stakeholder! Think of it this way: shareholders SHARE, stakeholders CARE. Shareholders earn money from the business, stakeholders care about the business, for example a shareholder of a restaurant shares the profits, a stakeholder of the restaurant could be a customer who cares about the restaurant staying in business so they can get their favourite meal!
Yes – you would then be a shareholder just the same as if you were an external body purchasing shares.