By law there must be at least one shareholder who subscribes to take at least one share. If you wish to take an equal amount of shares with another member of the company then it is usual to take one share each. Authorised share capital has now been abolished by The Companies Act 2006, so allocation of shares is now carried out slightly differently. If you choose the amount of shares to be issued by the company then the following are examples of how to distribute the shares.

Mr Smith wants to own 100% of the issued shares in Company X Limited. Mr Smith would take 1 share or whatever the total number is issued (if 100 were issued, he will take 100)

Mr Smith and Miss Jones want to own 50% each of the issued shares of Company X Limited. Mr Smith will take 1 share, Miss Jones will take 1 share (if 100 shares were issued, they would have 50 each).

Mr Smith wants to own 80% and Miss Jones 20% of the issued shares of Company X Limited. Mr Smith will take 8 shares, Miss Jones will take 2 shares (if 100 shares were issued it would be 80 and 20 respectively).