Plenty of business owners end up running more than one thing. You might have a successful trading company and then launch a second brand, buy another business, or spin off a new division for a different type of customer. A common and sensible way to organise this is to put each business in its own limited company, with a single holding company (often called a "HoldCo") owning the shares in all of them.
This guide explains why owners do this, how profits and losses move around the group, and the one corporation tax trap that catches people out, the "associated companies" rules. It also covers the admin reality, VAT, and recharging shared costs, so you can decide whether several companies under one HoldCo is right for you. For the bigger picture, start with our complete guide to group structures.
There are good commercial reasons to keep separate businesses in separate companies rather than cramming everything into one:
The holding company sits on top, owns the shares, and acts as the central point of ownership. It usually does not trade itself, it holds the group together and can hold valuable assets such as property, cash or intellectual property. For the full list of reasons to use a HoldCo, see our holding company advantages guide.