How long UK companies take to file share allotments
A company that issues shares has to file a return of allotment of shares, form SH01, at Companies House within one month (Companies Act 2006, s.555). The lag is the number of days from the last allotment date on the form to the date Companies House received it. It decides how soon a new round becomes visible on the public register, so it sets the pace for anyone who tracks private company funding from filings.
The headline
Across 135,696 filings with allotments from 1 Jan 2024 to 30 Jun 2026, the median lag was 12 days. A quarter of filings arrived within 2 days of the allotment and three quarters within 42 days. The longest lag was 1,029 days.
Download the distribution (CSV)
Speed is the most common outcome. The largest band is 0 to 7 days, with 57,010 filings, 42% of the total. Adding the 8 to 14 day band takes the share to 55%, so most companies file within two weeks and well before the deadline.
The tail is long and sits at the far end of the chart. 12% of filings arrived 61 to 180 days after the allotment, and 8.9% arrived over 180 days after it. Companies that miss the deadline often miss it by months, not days. A calendar month and a fixed 31-day count differ slightly, which is why the two shares above do not add to the whole.
By allotment half-year
| Allotment half-year | Filings | Median lag (days) | Share filed after 31 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 H1 | 27,737 | 13 | 33% |
| 2024 H2 | 28,931 | 13 | 30% |
| 2025 H1 | 28,584 | 12 | 31% |
| 2025 H2 | 26,248 | 11 | 28% |
| 2026 H1 | 24,196 | 10 | 23% |
Download the half-year table (CSV)
The median has shortened from 13 days for allotments in 2024 H1 to 10 days in 2026 H1. Each half-year holds between 24,196 and 28,931 filings.
Funding rounds file faster
Filings that belong to priced funding rounds follow a tighter pattern. Across 7,466 of them the median lag was 11 days, against 12 for all filings. A quarter were filed within 3 days and three quarters within 27 days, where the figure for all filings is 42. 79% met the one month deadline, and 20% took more than 31 days.
Priced rounds are not much faster at the median, but they avoid the long tail. Three quarters are filed by day 27, against day 42 for all filings. For anyone who tracks private company funding from the register, that makes the SH01 a timely signal for most new rounds, which typically appear within weeks of the allotment.
Based on Companies House share allotment filings read by Bradshaw.
How Bradshaw reads a funding round from a share allotment filing
Questions and answers
How long do UK companies take to file a share allotment?
The median UK company files its share allotment return 12 days after the shares are issued. A quarter of filings arrive within 2 days and three quarters within 42 days. The longest lag was 1,029 days, across 135,696 filings with allotments from 1 Jan 2024 to 30 Jun 2026. Data to 28 Oct 2026.
What is the deadline for filing form SH01?
A company must file the return of allotment of shares within one month of the allotment, under the Companies Act 2006. 70% of filings reach Companies House within a calendar month, and 29% take longer than 31 days. Data to 28 Oct 2026.
Do funding rounds get filed faster than other share allotments?
Yes. 79% of filings for priced funding rounds arrive within the month, against 70% of all share allotment filings, and the median lag is 11 days against 12. Data to 28 Oct 2026.
Why does the filing lag matter?
It decides how soon a new funding round shows up on the public register. For priced rounds, a quarter of filings arrive within 3 days of the allotment and three quarters within 27 days, while 20% take longer than 31 days, so some rounds appear months after the money arrives. Data to 28 Oct 2026.