If I have ABC LTD and register abc.ltd.uk then if I change the company name to XYZ LTD I can register a new domain xyz.ltd.uk. However, what happens to the abc.ltd.uk domain? And what if I wanted to not lose the domain? Could I start a new - and dormant - company called ABC LTD (now that this name is no longer in use by anyone)? And would I be able to transfer that domain to the new company?
Seeing that companies house will take a few days to make all the name changes etc... when can XYZ LTD sell/transfer abc.ltd.uk?
If you sell the company to someone else, the ex owner of the company will have to dispose of the domain, although the buyer of the company need not buy the domain with it.
Once you hold the company at Companies House you have the right to the .ltd.uk domain, and no one else.
It's unlikely anyone will buy a .ltd.uk unless they actually own the company with that name
I am aware of that. It's not unlikely. It's impossible.
Once you hold the company at Companies House you have the right to the .ltd.uk domain, and no one else.
I'm aware of that as well as evidenced by what I said in my original post.
Please read it again. It relates to changing a company's name but retaining the URL by starting a new company with that name.
The old domain cannot however be transferred to any entity other than a new company corresponding exactly to the domain name. Therefore it is entirely permissible to do what you suggested. For a particularly attractive domain like, say for the sake of argument, chat.ltd.uk (don't worry url-polizei, not a real domain!) you could register a new company called Chat Limited for £39 and sell the entire issued share capital of the company on (whose sole asset is the domain name) rather than selling the actual domain name.
I suppose there is some logic in why they would allow some extended use for continuity purposes.
Just to confirm. If I was trading in the name of Chat Ltd could I change the company name to Talk Ltd, continue trading and then in a month or two start a new company called Chat Ltd (with different owners) and transfer/sell chat.ltd.uk to the new company?
Although, I have to say, .ltd.uk domains have never really caught on. They are pretty nasty unless you can get a super premium name like chat.ltd.uk or business.ltd.uk. Even then, there is the majority of the public who are unaware of the existence of .ltd.uk and remember only the prefix. So when they get home and come to type in your site, instead of chat.ltd.uk they go to chat.co.uk who might be your competitor and you have lost the sale!
Out of 4,500,000 .xx.uk domain names registered with Nominet, only 17,000 of them are .ltd.uk domains, about a third of a percent.
I appreciate that they aren't popular but they do have some advantages. Forgot to renew your domain? No problem - you don't have to deal with some cybersquatter opportunist and go through ICANN's UDRP. You can't lose the domain! If it's not something you advertise then it's not a problem. We advertise ourbrand.com and that URL resolves to the .ltd.uk site. And other sites who link to us link to the .ltd.uk.
In this particular case it's not so much a matter of building traffic to a new .ltd.uk domain but of retaining traffic already built up even when/if the company's name changes.
