Shares in Public Limited Companies are bought and sold by the general public on the Stock Exchange. As such, it is normally the case that, unlike potential investors in a Private Limited Company, who are often closely related to the current owners of the business, and have direct knowledge of the company, members of the general public are not as informed about the Public Limited Company they are considering investing in. For this reason, and to retain confidence in the Stock Exchange, the requirements placed on Plcs are far more rigorous than those for the Ltd, particularly in relation the the amount of financial information they are required to publish in their Financial Reports.

In addition to the documents already considered, i.e. the Memorandum and Articles of Association and the List of Directors, a Statutory Declaration is required, stating that the relevant sections of the Companies Act will be met by the company. Further, on receipt of the Certificate of Incorporation, the company may not start trading until it has been successfully floated on the exchange, i.e at least 25% of the value of its shares has been paid up, and share capital must be at least £50,000.

Floating a company on the Stock Exchange is an expensive, and time consuming process. One of the major expenses incurred is that of promoting the share offer. This will normally include issuing a Prospectus, a form of brochure promoting the company to potential investors, prior to its floatation. Any such documents published by the company, will of course, need to be checked through by lawyers, as they form part of the contract between shareholder and company. It is also a requirement of the Exchange that all share issues are underwritten. Underwriters in effect act as insurers to the floatation, agreeing to purchase any unsold shares, for a fee.

As a less costly option to the Stock Exchange businesses can chose to sell their share on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), which has been developed for smaller business ventures who can not, or do not wish to, fulfil the more stringent requirements set by the Stock Exchange itself.

Mainly due to there size and public status the Plc carries with it certain advantages, however these qualities can also be a source of disadvantage for the large Plc, the following table offers a summary of the key advantages and disadvantages of the Plc.