Since Companies House increased its digital incorporation fee to £100 in February 2026, a phrase has appeared in company formation advertising with increasing frequency: “Don’t pay the £100 fee.”
It is an attractive headline. £100 is a real cost. If someone offers to absorb it, that is worth knowing about.
But the offer is not always what it first appears. Two providers – Tide and 1st Formations – are currently running versions of this campaign. Both absorb the £100 Companies House fee in certain circumstances. Both have conditions that are worth reading before you decide.
This post explains both offers plainly, so you can make an informed choice.
What the £100 Companies House Fee Actually Is
When you register a limited company in the UK, Companies House charges a statutory filing fee. As of 1 February 2026, that fee is £100 for digital incorporation. It is a government fee, not an agent fee – every company registered in the UK pays it, regardless of who processes the application.
Some formation agents include this fee in their headline price. Others charge it separately. Either way, it is the same £100 going to the same place.
When a provider says they will “absorb” or “pay” this fee, they are not eliminating a cost – they are subsidising it from somewhere else in their business model. The question worth asking is: where is that subsidy coming from, and what does it mean for you?
Tide: £14.99 All-In – Subsidised by Their Banking Business
Tide is a digital banking platform. They offer company formation at £14.99 all-in – a price that absorbs most of the £100 Companies House fee on the customer’s behalf.
This is a genuine offer. The formation is processed, the company is registered, and the price is £14.99.
Why Tide can offer this price
Tide subsidises formation because it is a customer acquisition tool for their banking business. When you form a company through Tide, you open a Tide business bank account as part of the process. The formation fee is not where Tide makes money. The banking relationship is.
This is not a hidden agenda – it is openly how Tide’s business model works. For founders who want a Tide account anyway, the alignment is fine. For founders who want to choose their bank independently, or who may outgrow Tide’s banking features over time, it is worth understanding what you are signing up for.
The structural limitations
Beyond the banking lock-in, Tide’s formation service has structural restrictions that many founders only discover after starting the process:
- Single director and single shareholder only. If you have a co-founder – or any other person holding shares – Tide cannot form your company. This is not a tier limitation. It applies to all Tide formation packages without exception.
- UK residents only. Founders based outside the UK cannot register a company through Tide.
- LTD companies only. Tide does not support LLPs, companies limited by guarantee, charities, or bespoke articles of association.
For a solo UK founder who wants a Tide account, the £14.99 offer delivers what it promises. For anyone else, the £14.99 is not available regardless.
1st Formations: £1 Formation – If You Subscribe to Their Accounting Service
1st Formations is an established company formation agent. Their standard packages range from £102.99 to £139.99, with the £100 Companies House fee included in those prices – no unusual conditions attached.
They also offer a fourth option: “All Inclusive with Accounting” – £1.00.
At £1.00, 1st Formations will form your company and cover the £100 Companies House fee themselves. It is, on the surface, the most dramatic offer in the market.
What the £1 offer actually involves
The £1 formation price is conditional on subscribing to 1st Formations’ accounting service, which starts at £49 + VAT per month – £58.80 per month including VAT.
The accounting service itself includes year-end accounts, Corporation Tax returns, Xero accounting software, VAT registration and returns, PAYE registration, and self assessment for one director. It is a real service with real value, offered on a rolling monthly basis with no long-term contract.
But the maths are worth doing clearly:
| Standard package | £1 offer (with accounting) | |
|---|---|---|
| Formation cost | £102.99-£139.99 | £1.00 |
| Companies House fee | Included | Paid by 1st Formations |
| Accounting service | Optional add-on | Required – from £49+VAT/month |
| Year one total (minimum) | £102.99 | £1 + £705.60 (12 x £58.80) = £706.60 |
The £1 offer is not a cheaper way to form a company. It is a bundled formation and accounting subscription. Whether it represents good value depends entirely on whether you need the accounting service – and whether £49+VAT/month is competitive for what you need.
If you were planning to pay for accounting anyway, the offer is worth evaluating seriously. If you were not, the £1 headline price understates the real cost significantly.
What Mint Does Differently
Mint Formations does not run “Don’t pay the £100 fee” campaigns. Our pricing is straightforward: formation starts from £4.99, and the £100 Companies House fee is listed separately and clearly. You pay both. There is no subsidy, no conditional offer, and no product attached.
We think this is the right approach – not because we cannot compete on price, but because we believe founders deserve to know exactly what they are paying and exactly what they are getting.
A few things that are included with Mint formation at no extra condition:
Free Application Assistant. Every Mint customer gets a named person guiding them through the formation process – from the initial application through to the certificate and any questions that arise. This was previously a paid £19 add-on. It is now included free for everyone.
WhatsApp support. Founders can reach us on WhatsApp throughout their formation journey. No other formation agent or banking entrant currently offers this.
Real people dealing with Companies House and HMRC. Our team calls Companies House and HMRC on behalf of clients – handling queries, resolving issues, and navigating compliance by phone. This is not software. It is qualified people who know how these organisations work.
Free accountant consultation. Every Mint customer receives a free consultation covering use of home as office, directors allowances, allowable business expenses, and any early-stage tax question.
Free Signal Biz Hub enrolment. Every Mint client is enrolled into Signal Biz Hub – a business support network with training, tips, and community networking for new founders.
Your choice of bank. Mint works with over ten banking partners – including Tide, ANNA Money, Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest, Monzo, Cashplus, Zempler, and Countingup. We fast-track bank account applications with all of them. We have no banking product of our own and no financial incentive to push any particular bank. The choice is entirely yours.
The Right Question to Ask
When you see a “Don’t pay the £100 fee” headline, the question is not whether the offer is genuine – in most cases, it is. The question is what sits behind it:
- Are you being acquired as a banking customer?
- Are you signing up for a monthly service to unlock the discount?
- Does the offer apply to your situation at all?
Company formation is a one-time event. The choices you make during it – your bank, your accountant, your agent – often last longer than the registration itself. Evaluating those choices based on the headline price alone is worth resisting.
Mint’s formation fee starts at £4.99. The £100 Companies House fee is on top, as it is everywhere. What you get for that £4.99 is a named specialist, a human review of your application before it reaches Companies House, WhatsApp support, a free accountant consultation, and a team that will still be answering your questions in year three.
If that sounds like what you need, [compare our formation packages →].
Mint Formations is an authorised Companies House formation agent (ACSP). Pricing information for Tide and 1st Formations is based on publicly available information from their websites and is accurate at the time of writing. If anything has changed, please let us know.
