TL;DR: Opening an InvestEngine Business Account is easy and available for UK limited companies (Ltd), LLPs and partnerships. To get started, you’ll need basic company details, ID for each director and PSC, an LEI and a UK business bank account in the company’s name. Most accounts go from application to invested within a few business days.
Getting your business cash invested isn’t as complicated as you might think. With a Business Account, the setup is designed to be quick and easy, with most customers getting invested in a matter of days.
Here’s exactly what’s involved, from whether your business is eligible to making your first investment.
Is your business eligible?
A Business Account is available to UK-based limited companies (Ltd), Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) and partnerships. If your business sits in one of those three categories, you’re in scope.
Sole traders typically invest through personal accounts, like a Stocks & Shares ISA, SIPP or General Investment Account, rather than a Business Account. This is because a sole trader isn’t a separate legal entity from the individual running it.
Who needs to be involved?
To meet UK financial-services rules (KYC and anti-money-laundering), we need to identify the people behind the business. That means:
- All directors of the company
- All Persons with Significant Control (PSCs). This is anyone who owns 25% or more of the shares or voting rights, or otherwise has significant influence over the company
- Everyone identified must be 18 or over
- The person opening the account should be authorised to act on behalf of the company (typically a director or another authorised signatory)
PSC information is the same data the company already files with Companies House, so it’s usually quick to gather.
What you’ll need to have ready
You can speed the application up by having the following to hand before you start.
Company information
- Registered company name and Companies House number
- Registered office address (and trading address if different)
Director and PSC information
- Full names, dates of birth and home addresses
- Photo ID (passport or driving licence) and proof of address (utility bill, bank statement, etc.) for each
Banking
- A UK business bank account in the company’s name, used for funding the Business Account and for any withdrawals back to the company
LEI (Legal Entity Identifier)
- If your business already has an active LEI, you can enter it during onboarding
- If not, InvestEngine will register one for you (free for the first year) as part of opening the account
How to get an LEI
Every business investing in financial markets needs a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI), a 20-character code that uniquely identifies the company in transaction reports.
UK and EU rules mean an investment firm can’t execute trades on behalf of an eligible business without one (the no LEI, no trade rule).
With InvestEngine, you don’t need to do anything to get an LEI. During onboarding, if your business doesn’t already have one, we register one for you through an accredited issuer, with no separate application required, and the first year is on us.
LEIs do need to be renewed annually to stay active, with renewal typically costing in the region of £40–£60 + VAT per year depending on the issuer.
For a deeper dive into what an LEI is and why it exists, read our full explainer.
How to open a business investment account, step by step
The whole application happens online. There’s no paperwork to print, sign and post. The flow is:
- Start the application at investengine.com and choose Business Account
- Enter your company details – most of this is pulled from Companies House, so it auto-fills (make sure your info on Companies House is up to date)
- Add directors and PSCs, along with ID and address details for each
- Complete identity verification, done electronically wherever possible
- LEI registration – if your business doesn’t already have one, InvestEngine c handles this for you
- Account approval – once checks pass, the account is opened in the company’s name
- Fund the account by UK bank transfer from your business bank account (minimum £100)
- Start investing
How long does it take?
For most businesses, the application form takes around 10–15 minutes if you have the documents ready. Identity and company checks are typically completed within 1–3 business days, and LEI registration (if needed) usually adds another 1–2 business days, done in parallel.
UK bank transfers normally arrive the same-day or the next business day, and you can place your first trade as soon as the account is funded.
In practice, most customers go from starting the application to being invested inside a week, and often faster. If we need anything extra (like additional ID verification) we’ll be in touch and the timeline can extend slightly.
Setting up your first portfolio
Once the account is open and funded, the next decision is how you want to invest.
Invest your way with InvestEngine
With a DIY portfolio, you build your own mix from a curated range of ETFs – global equities, bonds, money market funds, sector or thematic funds, gold, and more.
You set target weights for each holding (for example, 60% global equities, 30% bonds, 10% money market), and you can use Savings Plans to automate top-ups weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Rebalancing back to your target weights is a single action whenever the portfolio drifts. There’s no platform fee on DIY portfolios; you only pay the underlying ETF costs.
A few practical tips for your first portfolio
A helpful starting point is to think about the goal before the products. A pot of VAT money you’ll need in three months looks very different from retained profits you won’t touch for a decade, and the time horizon should shape what you hold.
Money you may need within 1–2 years generally suits lower-volatility options like money market or short-dated bond ETFs, while money you can leave invested for 5–10+ years can take on more equity exposure.
Diversification tends to do a lot of the heavy lifting, and you don’t need to overcomplicate it. A single global equity ETF can already give you exposure to thousands of companies across dozens of countries, which makes it a useful core building block.
Rather than treating investing as a one-off decision, Savings Plans let you build the portfolio gradually as a recurring, low-effort part of business cash flow. You can change the composition at any time as the business’s needs evolve.
How to manage your investments
Once the portfolio is live, day-to-day involvement is minimal. You can monitor performance through the dashboard (with custom reports available), top up at any time or let Savings Plans run quietly in the background, and withdraw whenever you need to — there’s no notice period and no exit fee, with funds typically reaching the company’s bank account within 4–5 business days of the sale.
At the end of the tax year, we provide a Consolidated Tax Certificate and a Capital Gains report covering the year to 5 April, ready to hand to the company accountant.
Tax treatment depends on the specific circumstances of the business and is subject to change, so speak to your accountant for tailored advice.
The bottom line
Opening a Business Account is designed to be powerfully simple: a short online application, free LEI registration in year one, a £100 minimum, and a flexible range of options once you’re in.
For most businesses, the bigger decision isn’t how to open the account, it’s deciding what you want your company cash to actually do for you in the first place.
Important information
Capital at risk. The value of your portfolio with InvestEngine can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest. ETF costs also apply. This communication is provided for general information only and should not be construed as advice. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may be subject to change.