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A shelf company in Greece, an έτοιμη εταιρεία in Greek, is an IKE that was entered in GEMI and then kept without trading until a buyer takes over its shares. Some Greek searches use κέλυφος (shell) for the same idea. Buying it is a share deal: the buyer acquires the same legal person, which keeps its registration date and its tax number, while the partners and the administrator change.
| Already in place | What it means for the buyer |
|---|---|
| GEMI number and EUID | Unique to the company and unchanged for its whole life (Law 4919/2022, Art. 22); every filing carries a registration code with its exact date and time, so the date of registration is fixed |
| AFM and TAXIS key | Issued at formation; invoices, contracts and tax returns continue under the same number |
| KAD activity codes | Already registered in GEMI; a different activity means updating them |
| Paid capital | Paid in full at formation and certified in GEMI by the administrator (Law 4072/2012, Art. 77(4)); it may be very small, because the law sets no minimum |
| Filing record | Annual statements published in GEMI and tax returns for each year since formation |
| Books at the seat | The book of partners, the book of decisions and minutes, and the internal register of beneficial owners |
There is no share certificate to hand over. What counts for an IKE is the book of partners kept by the administrator, which records each partner, the number of shares, the kind of contribution behind them and every acquisition and transfer (Article 66). If you were looking for an έτοιμη εταιρεία in Cyprus rather than Greece, Cypriot companies have their own page: ready-made companies in Cyprus.
A person or a company from any country can buy an IKE: Greek company law sets no nationality or residence test for its partners or its administrator, and the company may be wholly foreign owned and run from abroad. Three practical conditions come from other rules. Each incoming partner who is a natural person needs a Greek AFM, which AADE issues to tax residents abroad through its online myAADE application, with a tax representative in Greece and identification by video call or at a tax office. A foreign company buying the shares is registered with a Greek AFM too. The new administrator must be a natural person (Article 58) and also needs an AFM. Holding the shares from abroad needs no Greek residence permit; living and working in Greece is a separate immigration question.
| Step | What happens | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Read the articles | They may exclude or restrict transfers or give the other partners pre-emption; shares standing for unperformed work or guarantee contributions cannot be sold until those obligations are bought out | Law 4072/2012 Art. 83, 84(2) |
| Transfer agreement | Made in writing; no notarial deed is required, unlike for EPE shares | Art. 84(1); Law 3190/1955 Art. 28(3) |
| Notice to the company | A written notice signed by seller and buyer, which may be sent by e-mail, makes the transfer effective towards the company and the partners | Art. 84(1) |
| Book of partners | The administrator enters the transfer at once; towards third parties it counts from this entry | Art. 84(1), 66 |
| New administrator | Appointed by a majority of all shares while the outgoing one is revoked, both published in GEMI | Art. 57, 59, 63 |
| GEMI update | The partners’ shares and details are registered; the application is due within 20 days of the decision, and GEMI checks and registers it within 10 days, 21 at most with corrections | Law 4919/2022 Art. 25, 35(2) |
| Name, seat, objects | Changed by amending the articles with two thirds of all shares, effective only once registered in GEMI; unanimous decisions can be taken in writing without a meeting | Law 4072/2012 Art. 72(5), 73; Law 4919/2022 Art. 18 |
| Beneficial owners | The change is filed in the Central Register of Beneficial Owners within 60 days | Law 4557/2018 Art. 20(1) |
Two details are particular to the IKE. A single-member company must carry “Μονοπρόσωπη Ι.Κ.Ε.” or “Single Member P.C.” in its name (Article 44), so a sale that leaves the company with two partners, or with one where there were two, affects the name. And the website the law requires of every IKE has to show the new partners and the new administrator (Article 47). On tax, we found no transfer duty on IKE shares; a gain an individual seller makes on shares in a private company is taxed at 15%, which is the seller’s tax rather than the buyer’s.
Be clear about the trade-off. A new IKE is checked by the one-stop shop on the same or the next working day once its file is complete, so in Greece a shelf company does not buy registration time. A takeover has its own paperwork: an AFM for each incoming partner and the administrator, the GEMI filings in the table above and the bank’s review of the new owners.
What the older company does bring is a history in a register anyone can read: its date of registration, years of published statements, an AFM and activity codes already in place. That matters where a counterparty, a tender or a bank looks at how long the company has existed. It brings no trading record or credit history, because a shelf company has none, and it may already have used part of a tax relief meant for new companies: the corporate tax prepayment is halved only in a company’s first three years of operations. If none of this matters to you, company formation in Greece through the one-stop shop is the simpler route.
A shelf IKE may come with a Greek account, whose IBAN starts with GR and has 27 characters, or without one; ask which. Where there is an account, it belongs to the company and stays with it through the share transfer. The bank is not bound by the sale, though: after the change of partners and administrator it re-checks the new beneficial owners and may keep the account, ask for more documents or close it. The online onboarding routes we found at Greek banks assume Greek credentials, such as existing internet banking codes or TAXISnet, and some business accounts are opened only at a branch, so a foreign administrator should be ready to sign in person. What individual banks ask for is set out on bank accounts for Greek companies, and the general position on companies sold with an account on shelf companies with bank accounts.
We can supply a ready-made IKE or form a new one, prepare the transfer documents and the GEMI filings, help prepare the bank application and, where we have a working contact at a suitable bank, make an introduction, while the bank alone decides. Background on the country is on the Greece overview.
No. Law 4072/2012 asks only for a written transfer and a written notice to the company signed by seller and buyer, which may be sent by e-mail. The administrator then enters the buyer in the book of partners, and the new shareholding is filed in GEMI. EPE shares are different: they can only be transferred by notarial deed, so confirm which form the company really is.
Yes. Nothing in Greek company law reserves IKE shares or the administrator’s post for residents or nationals, and a single foreign buyer can take the whole company. Each incoming partner who is a natural person, and the new administrator, need a Greek AFM, which AADE issues online to tax residents abroad through a tax representative. The administrator must be a natural person, while a partner can be a company.
Yes. The GEMI number belongs to the company and never changes, and the AFM stays with it as well, so contracts, invoices and tax filings carry on under the same numbers. Only the partners, the administrator and, if you choose, the name, seat and objects are updated. Obligations the company incurred before the sale remain its own, which is why its filing record matters.
No. Every GEMI registration receives a code with its exact date and time, entries are presumed correct until corrected under the law, and the registration date is visible to anyone on the public search at publicity.businessportal.gr. An honest seller shows that date together with the published statements; a company described as older than its GEMI file shows is a reason to walk away.
Usually έτοιμη εταιρεία, which means ready company, or έτοιμη ΙΚΕ for the usual form. In English the IKE itself is a Private Company or P.C., and a Single Member P.C. when it has one partner. Off-the-shelf company, shelf company and ready-made company all describe the same thing: a registered IKE that has not traded and is sold by transferring its shares.
The transfer agreement and the notice to the company can be signed on the same day, but the GEMI filings follow the statute: the application is due within 20 days of the decision, and GEMI has up to 10 days to check and register it, 21 with corrections. Before that, each incoming partner and the administrator need an AFM, and afterwards any bank reviews the new owners.
Looking for a Greek IKE that already exists? Ask us which ready-made companies are available now and what the transfer would need for your partners. Write through our contact page, or on Telegram or WhatsApp at +48 663 247 166.