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Part of How to write a UK startup corporate communications plan
How to write a UK startup corporate communications plan
A lean corporate communications plan for a UK startup: Companies House facts, media relations, funding announcements and a five-step template.
What to take away
- Build the plan around three trackscompany launch, routine updates and funding announcements, each with one named approver.
- Anchor every fact in your Companies House record, so names, registered office and director titles match the register.
- Write a media list policy before you build the list, because journalist contact details are personal data.
- Put investor updates on a fixed date with fixed headings, so the habit survives a busy quarter.
- Review the plan when you hire, raise or change your registered office, rather than once a year.
Why an early-stage plan cannot copy a corporate template
A long corporate communications plan assumes a press office, a legal team and a rota for out-of-hours calls. A startup has one founder covering all three roles. Strip the template back to three decisions: who speaks, what may be said, and what happens if the message lands badly. A working corporate communications framework shows how to frame each decision.
A generic template such as the corporate communications strategy and planning guide is a decent starting point, but the sections that matter at seed stage are the approval gates, not the channel matrix.
What the register obliges you to get right
Companies House is the first place a UK journalist checks. Your own copy should match it: the registered company name with its suffix, the registered office, and the directors' titles as filed. Spelling the company name differently from the register invites a correction.
Sign-off has a legal edge. Directors owe duties to the company, and that shapes who may approve a statement about trading, a raise or a customer win (Companies Act 2006, Part 10). Name the approver in the plan rather than leaving it to whoever is nearest a laptop.
The five steps that turn the plan into a working template
- Copy the company name, number, registered office and director titles from the register into a one-page fact sheet, and check it each quarter.
- Write one sentence explaining what the company does, then test it on someone who does not work in your sector.
- Build the media list from named beats and recent bylines, and record why each contact is held (Data Protection Act 2018).
- Draft the funding announcement before you need it, leaving blanks for the amount, the lead investor and the date.
- Fix the update rhythminvestor note in the same week each month, internal note alongside it.
Which track owns which message
Each track ends somewhere different. Launch comms ends with a published description of the company that a customer can quote. Routine updates end with a dated note. Funding ends with an agreed announcement and an update schedule.
Which track owns which message
Launch
- Approver
- Founder or CEO
- Ready before
- First pitch
- Ends with
- One-sentence description
Routine
- Approver
- Comms lead
- Ready before
- The news week
- Ends with
- Dated note
Funding
- Approver
- Board
- Ready before
- Term sheet
- Ends with
- Agreed release and schedule
Keeping the tracks apart stops a product update drifting into an unapproved claim about growth.
UK media relations on a small budget
Trade and regional outlets respond to specifics: a named customer, a dated event you can evidence. National coverage may never arrive, and the plan should not depend on it.
Send a short pitch, offer the founder for interview, and never attach a document you would not want quoted. Keep claims you cannot evidence out of the draft.
A journalist list holds personal data, so UK GDPR applies. The usual basis is legitimate interests under Article 6(1)(f). Tell each contact how you hold their details at first contact, as Article 14 requires, honour any objection under Article 21, and delete contacts that have gone stale. The ICO's UK GDPR guidance on legitimate interests is the reference.
If founders plan to post about the round on LinkedIn, read the UK corporate social media disclosure rules before the first post goes out. A public post inviting people to invest is a financial promotion under section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, so it needs an exemption or approval by an authorised person. Ordinary company posts also sit under the CAP Code and data protection law.
A one-page plan to copy
Put the plan on one page with six headings, and fill each in for each track.
- Objective:one measurable aim per quarter, such as one trade-press feature or one investor update sent on time.
- Audience:customers, investors, staff, journalists, each named.
- Messages:the one-sentence description and three evidenced proof points.
- Channels:the two or three you can keep up, such as email, LinkedIn and one trade outlet.
- Owner and approver:one name for each track, and a deputy.
- Evaluation:coverage secured, update sent on the agreed date, corrections needed.
If a message lands badly
Write this section before you need it. Pause scheduled posts, name one spokesperson (the crisis communications plan for UK SMEs goes further), check the claim against the fact sheet and publish a dated correction in the same place as the original. Tell investors the same day, and log what changed and who approved it, in the format of a disclosure decision log. Review the log at the next quarterly check.
Funding announcements and investor updates
A raise is when the plan is most likely to break. Agree the announcement date with the lead investor, keep the amount and the use of funds to one sentence, and prepare an answer for the runway question.
Investor updates are a channel with a small, fixed audience. Use the same headings every month: metrics, decisions, asks, risks. A missed month then becomes visible rather than invisible.
If you are weighing grant or loan support alongside equity, check the routes listed on GOV.UK before writing a funding claim into a deck (Finance and support for your business, GOV.UK).
Common questions
Does a UK startup need a written communications plan?
No law requires one. A written plan fixes who may speak for the company, which matters as soon as a raise or a complaint brings outside attention.
When should the register be checked?
Before any announcement that names a director, a shareholding or the registered office. Filings take time to appear, so check the record on the day rather than relying on an old screenshot.
Who approves a funding announcement?
The board, because directors owe duties to the company and the wording can move investors, staff and customers. Keep the approved version in one place with a date on it.
How big should the media list be?
As big as you can keep current. A short list of named journalists with recent bylines beats a bought list nobody has checked.
