ABSTRACT
The term, ‘capital’, has special significance in company law. A company which is registered under the Companies Act 1985 with shares is required to have an ‘authorised share capital’.1 This is an amount which is stated in the company’s memorandum and is the maximum sum which a company can raise by way of issuing shares. The memorandum will also state how this authorised share capital is to be made up, that is, by how many shares and of what nominal value.2 A company does not have to issue all the shares which it is entitled to do but the aggregate nominal value of the shares which it does issue is known as the ‘issued share capital’.
