A company in Latvia is a great alternative to offshore companies as numerous changes in regulations and laws have been passed by the Latvian government in recent years. Companies in Latvia attract foreign entrepreneurs and investors who are looking for a sustainable and developing business structure and an opportunity to use multiple tax optimization options for their companies.

While there is an option to start your own business, there is another alternative - you can buy an already existing business. A company that was established some time ago and is currently inactive is known as a shelf or readymade company. Shelf companies are either 'clean', meaning there has never been a transaction in that company since inception, or a company with its own history, meaning it has an operational and financial history.

Advantages of acquiring a shelf company
Clean businesses are usually formed for a single purpose, only to be sold after some time. The key advantage of such a shelf company is that the new owner of the company can be absolutely sure that he has no debts or other liabilities to the previous owners. Meanwhile, companies that have previously operated may have some liabilities, and investors should conduct their own due diligence to ensure they are not buying a shelf company with high levels of debt. Still, even companies with an operational history have their own advantages. For example, a ready-made business with a pre-existing history is more credible and easier to get a loan or even open a bank account. Some manufacturers, as well as governments, prefer to do business with a company that excels in durability.

Compared to an opportunity to start your own business, the shelf company might be the right strategy for the following reasons:

Urgency – Starting a new business requires time and resources. If you want to start trading as quickly as possible, a shelf company allows you to start trading almost immediately after purchasing the shares.
Image and Credibility - Recently registered companies often seem unreliable to do business with. A shelf company that was registered some time ago now helps to create a reliable image.
Compliance with formal requirements - in some cases, a company must be of a certain age in order to acquire certain business projects.
Process of a shelf company acquisition
The process of acquiring a shelf company in Latvia is a relatively straightforward process and is usually taken care of by the service provider you have chosen to purchase a shelf company from. The limited liability company is the most common legal form in Latvia, as its shareholders do not assume any personal liability for the company's debts other than from the invested capital. In general, shelf companies in Latvia are provided with an active registration number, a VAT number, no previous activity and an already registered share capital of EUR 2,800. The latter can vary with different service providers and you should be aware of this before choosing your shelf company.

The acquisition of the Latvian shelf company can be carried out either by arranging a notary appointment or by remote issuance of a power of attorney digitally signed with an electronic signature. As a rule, all documents are created by the service provider and the client only needs copies of the partners’ passports, the residential addresses and the new company name (if desired) and contact details. When all the documents are ready and signed by the service provider, they submit the application to the Trade Register, where it takes up to 5 business days to process all the changes. For an additional fee it is possible to speed up the process to 1 business day. After the commercial register has processed the changes, the service provider forwards all legal documents to the new shareholders and your company can start operations.