llc company : A shelf enterprise is a organization which has been developed but has ceased trading. Its memorandum and articles can be purchased ‘off the shelf’.
supply: ANZ Bank Financial Dictionary
Back in the ‘good old days’, it took rather a even though to develop (or incorporate) a firm. Yet, persons typically required a new organization ASAP, so providers of enterprise registration services would pre-produce companies and have them ‘sitting on the shelf’, prepared for sale when expected.
Somebody wanting to make a firm quick could obtain a single of these off-the-shelf businesses (or shelf providers as they are a lot more commonly termed) speedily and easily. All that was expected for a buyer to buy a shelf enterprise was for the provider to transfer the shelf company’s shares to the purchaser, and arrange for the resignation of the directors of the original shelf firm, who would be replaced by the new directors (the purchaser or their nominated agent/s). In some cases, the shelf enterprise name would also be changed by the purchaser.
With the advent of higher-tech enterprise registration solutions such as Cleardocs, it is no longer needed to wait long time periods to develop a new corporation, so the shelf company small business has died down significantly. It also means that there is much less administrative hassle and expense in the creation of a new business (compared to purchasing a shelf company) for the reason that you do not have to have to transform directors, possibly adjust the name of the organization, transfer shares and spend stamp duty on the shares tranfer.