Company Formation in Germany

Professional company formation services in Germany. We form your German Unternehmergesellschaft, GmbH, KG, OHG, AG or branch company.

Reasons for company formation in Germany

Germany is one of Europe's most important markets. 35 % of the European Union's GNP is generated in this country. Germany's population of more than 82 million people is the largest in the European Community. Germany is the fifth largest national economy in the world, quality "Made in Germany" is still well known worldwide. Germany's location in the middle of Europe offers great business opportunities. Every European country can be reached within a few hours either by car, train, or plane. Equally interesting is Germany's neighboring position to Austria and Switzerland, not to mention the Eastern European countries, another giant market. There are many options available for a German company formation.

German Partnerships

• Kommanditgesellschaft (KG)
• Offene Handelsgesellschaft (OHG)

The main advantages of forming a partnership rather than a company are simple company formation procedures, no or low capital contributions required and less bureaucratic burden. Forming a partnership is an alternative solution if the company is small and has only a few partners.

German Companies

• Gesellschaft mit beschraenkter Haftung (GmbH)
• Unternehmergesellschaft (UG)
• Aktiengesellschaft (AG)

A company has a separate legal personality from its owners. The liability of shareholders is limited to their investment in the company. The company continues to exist after the death of an owner. Shares can be sold at anytime. The introduction of UG's (Unternehmergesellschaft) has simplified the company formation procedure and also resulted in lower capital requirements compared to the GmbH. An Unternehmergesellschaft can now be formed with 1 Euro minimum capital, in order to encourage start-ups.

German Branch company

Best of both worlds: By forming a German branch company entrepreneurs benefit from increased limitation of liability and legally avoid some of the strict and time-consuming German company formation requirements. Any company registered somewhere else in the world is allowed to set up a Niederlassung (branch company) in Germany. The most suitable corporate entities used as "parent company" for this purpose are the UK Limited company, Scottish partnership or US companies. One of the major advantages of the European Union is freedom of (corporate) establishment within the EU. The 3 most important EU judgements can be found here:

• Centros case
• Überseering case
• Inspire Art case

Ready-made / shelf companies vs. new company*

Futuramax sell ready-made German companies which have never traded and therefore are free of any financial liabilities. Buying a shelf company rather than forming a new German company enables the new owner to start trading immediately. Alternatively it is possible to form a new German company. However, this process might take up to 4 weeks due to the need to sign company documents in presence of a notary and deal with apostille / translation requirements in your country of residence. Futuramax provide a wide range of corporate services, including virtual office services in Berlin, bank account opening and provision of local company officers if required. *Being a business consultancy firm, we do not provide any tax or legal advice.