By: Money Navigator Research Team
Last Reviewed: 04/02/2026
FACT CHECKED
Quick Summary
Tide’s Virtual Office Address is priced as a paid subscription and is narrowly defined: it provides:
- London registered office address
- Director correspondence address
- Same-day scanning/emailing of official post – while unofficial post is returned and physical forwarding/collection is generally not part of the service (cheques are a stated exception)
The practical “gotcha” is that it’s an administrative address service with specific permitted uses and restrictions, so it’s important to distinguish it from a trading address or a general mailroom.
This article is educational and not financial advice.
What “virtual office address” means in the UK (and what it doesn’t)
In UK company administration, the registered office address is the official address Companies House holds on the public register.
GOV.UK sets requirements for that address (for example, it must be a UK physical address, in the same UK jurisdiction as the company, and “appropriate” in the sense that post can be delivered and delivery confirmed). See GOV.UK: Check the rules for registered office addresses and email addresses.
A virtual office address service is typically used to supply that registered office address (and sometimes related statutory correspondence addresses) without being a company’s operational base. The key distinction is purpose:
Administrative/statutory purpose: where official bodies send formal correspondence.
Operational purpose: where the business actually trades from, meets customers, receives deliveries, and so on.
Tide’s own description of what is “included” keeps the service squarely on the administrative side (registered office + director correspondence + scanning). See Tide: What’s included in the Virtual Office Address?.
Tide virtual office pricing: the headline figures (and what “+ VAT” changes)
Tide states the pricing as:
£22.99 + VAT per month (monthly billing), or
£190 + VAT per year (annual billing).
See Tide: How much does a virtual office cost?.
On VAT: Tide also states it adds VAT for “value added services” associated with subscriptions, and that the virtual office address subscription uses the standard rate. See Tide: Why do you charge VAT?.
What this means in practice: the price you see is not necessarily the amount charged to your card/account, because the charge is the subscription amount plus VAT.
What’s included (and how the mail handling actually works)
Across Tide’s “included” and “key facts” descriptions, the included elements are consistent:
Registered office address (London)
Tide describes the registered office address provided as 86-90 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NE. See Tide: What’s included in the Virtual Office Address? and Tide: KEY FACTS – Virtual office address.Correspondence address for director
Tide also describes a director correspondence address (listed as the same London address). See Tide: What’s included in the Virtual Office Address? (and the same inclusion in Tide: KEY FACTS – Virtual office address).Same-day scanning and email forwarding of official mail
Tide states that mail is opened by its provider (named in Tide’s documentation), and that official mail is scanned and emailed the same day it’s received. Unofficial mail (for example, advertising) is returned to sender. See Tide: What’s included in the Virtual Office Address? and Tide: KEY FACTS – Virtual office address.
Important nuance (often missed): Tide’s “key facts” also defines “official mail” by source categories (for example Companies House and HMRC, alongside other public bodies). That definition is part of the service boundary, not just marketing language. See Tide: KEY FACTS – Virtual office address.
What’s not included (the boundary that drives most surprises)
Tide’s descriptions include several explicit “not included / not allowed” limitations:
1) Physical mail forwarding or collection (generally)
Tide states the plan does not include collecting or forwarding mail, with an exception for cheques, which it says are forwarded by mail. See Tide: What’s included in the Virtual Office Address? and Tide: KEY FACTS – Virtual office address.
Practical implication: if a sender will only communicate by post and expects physical delivery to you (rather than scanning), Tide’s own description does not position this service as a general-purpose mailroom.
2) Using it as a trading address
Tide’s “key facts” explicitly says the service must not be used as a trading address. See Tide: KEY FACTS – Virtual office address.
This is an important separation: a registered office address can be public and administrative, while “trading address” signals where the business operates. Tide’s restriction makes it clear it is not selling this as an operational presence.
3) Other prohibited uses (examples Tide explicitly lists)
Tide’s “key facts” includes additional “must not be used for” restrictions, including (non-exhaustive examples from Tide’s list):
vehicle registration/management (including DVLA-related use),
waybills/export documentation/customs declarations,
and use across multiple company or trading names without specific agreement.
See Tide: KEY FACTS – Virtual office address.
4) “Google Business Profile / similar listings” expectations
Tide’s “key facts” also references Google’s guidelines about staffed premises, noting that virtual offices are not treated as service-area businesses unless staffed during business hours. See Tide: KEY FACTS – Virtual office address.
Practical implication: this service may not satisfy platform rules that are designed to verify genuine, staffed locations.
Billing dates, cancellation timing, and refunds (what the price doesn’t tell you)
Billing date: tied to incorporation day (per Tide)
Tide states that monthly payment is collected on the day of the month the company was incorporated (and annual billing on the anniversary date). See Tide: How will I be billed?.
Practical implication: your subscription “month” may not align with calendar months; it aligns with your incorporation day-to-day cycle.
Cancellation: an address change dependency
Tide states cancellation is requested via in-app messaging, and that an alternative address for registered office and correspondence is required before it can process the cancellation request; it also states that it is the business’s legal responsibility to inform HMRC and Companies House of the address change prior to contacting Tide. See Tide: How do I cancel?.
Separately, GOV.UK states you must tell Companies House within 14 days of a registered office change taking place. See GOV.UK: Change a company’s registered office address (AD01).
Refunds: different approach for monthly vs annual
Tide states:
Monthly subscriptions: no refund for the remainder of the month after cancellation.
Annual subscriptions: refunds are described as discretionary, with contact via in-app support.
See Tide: Will I get a refund if I cancel?.
Practical implication: the cost “risk” is not symmetrical across monthly and annual billing, because the refund treatment differs.
Summary Table
| Scenario | Outcome | Practical impact |
|---|---|---|
| Paying monthly | £22.99 + VAT charged per month | Total cost depends on VAT; budget needs to treat it as a subscription, not a one-off. |
| Paying annually | £190 + VAT charged per year | Lower headline annual figure vs monthly total may exist, but annual cancellation/refund treatment differs. |
| Official post arrives (e.g., Companies House/HMRC categories) | Opened, scanned and emailed same day | Access is digital-first; speed comes from scanning rather than forwarding. |
| Unofficial post arrives (e.g., advertising) | Returned to sender | Anything outside the “official mail” definition may not reach you at all. |
| You expect physical mail forwarding | Not included, except cheques | The service boundary is scanning/emailing, not forwarding/collection as a default. |
| You want to use the address on marketing as your trading location | Not allowed (per Tide’s key facts) | A separate trading/operational address concept may still be needed depending on use. |
| You have multiple company/trading names | Not allowed without agreement | The subscription is designed around one named entity unless agreed otherwise. |
| You cancel the subscription | Mail sent to the address is returned to sender from cancellation date | Address changes need to be in place first, or post can start bouncing. |
Scenario Table
| Frame | What you’re trying to solve | What Tide’s service is (per its docs) | Where pricing/limitations show up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scenario-level | “I need an address that meets Companies House rules and is public-facing.” | A registered office address + director correspondence address at a fixed London address | The subscription price is tied to the address service, not to business activity level. |
| Process-level | “How does mail actually get to me?” | Mail is opened; official mail is scanned and emailed; unofficial mail is returned; cheques are an exception and are forwarded | The practical “service” you’re paying for is handling/scanning rules, not general forwarding. |
| Outcome-level | “What happens if I cancel or the address changes?” | Cancellation is conditional on providing an alternative address; post can be returned to sender after cancellation | Time-critical risk sits in address updates and billing/cancellation cut-offs rather than the headline price. |
Tide Business Bank Account
Tide provides business account products and a suite of add-ons and tools. Tide’s Virtual Office Address is separate in nature from payments functionality: it is an address-and-mail-handling service with its own pricing, rules and cancellation mechanics.
For a neutral overview of Tide business accounts and how they sit in the wider UK business banking market, see our Tide business account overview.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tide describes the service as providing a registered office address at a fixed London address, which is the address type Companies House holds as the company’s official address on the public register.
GOV.UK describes the registered office as a required address that must be physical, UK-based, in the correct jurisdiction, and “appropriate” for receiving post. In that sense, the “virtual office address” label is packaging for a registered office address service plus mail handling.
Separately, “virtual office address” can mean different things across providers (some bundle reception, forwarding, or workspace). Tide’s own “included” description is narrower: registered office + director correspondence + scanning/emailing of official mail, with explicit limits on forwarding.
Tide’s documentation distinguishes between “official” and “unofficial” mail, stating that unofficial mail (for example advertising) is returned to sender. That means some categories of mail may never reach you if they are treated as unofficial.
Tide’s “key facts” also lists examples of what it treats as official sources (including Companies House and HMRC, alongside other public bodies). The practical implication is that the scanning promise is linked to that definition, not to every letter that might be sent to the address.
Tide explicitly states that the plan does not include collecting or forwarding mail, with an exception for cheques which it says are forwarded by mail. In other words, the default delivery channel is scanning/email rather than physical forwarding.
That distinction matters when a sender expects a physical response or uses post for items that are not handled as “official mail”. In those situations, the service may not behave like a general-purpose mailbox.
Tide’s “key facts” states the service must not be used as a trading address. That is a clear boundary: the service is positioned as an administrative/statutory address, not the place your business trades from.
Even where a registered office address appears on public records, a trading address is often used to signal operational presence. Tide’s restriction indicates it does not intend this product to represent where the business actually operates day-to-day.
GOV.UK explains that a registered office address will be publicly available on the online register. It also notes that if you do not want an address to be publicly available, that address should not be used as the registered office address, and that alternatives can include using a different address such as a professional adviser or appointing an agent to provide an address.
Tide’s product is one example of an “agent-style” solution in that sense: it supplies a registered office address that is not your home. The key limitation is that it is still governed by Tide’s permitted-use rules and mail-handling scope.
Tide states that monthly billing is collected on the day of the month your company was incorporated, and that yearly billing is on the anniversary date. That creates a billing cycle anchored to your incorporation day rather than the 1st–31st.
In practice, this affects how you interpret “mid-month” cancellations and renewals. It also affects comparisons where other services bill on calendar months, because the “month” boundaries are simply different.
Tide states cancellation is requested via in-app messaging and that it requires you to provide an alternative address for registered office and correspondence before it can process the cancellation request. It also states that from the date you cancel, mail sent to the virtual office address will be returned to sender.
That means the operational risk is not just “subscription ends”; it is “mail begins bouncing”. The dependency is the address update sequence: the registered office change needs to be in place before the cancellation takes effect if the goal is to avoid missed correspondence.
Tide states that monthly subscriptions do not receive a refund for the remainder of the month after cancellation. That means “unused” time is not automatically refunded on monthly billing.
For annual subscriptions, Tide describes refunds as discretionary and routed through support. The practical implication is that “annual” is not simply “12× monthly” from a cancellation risk perspective; refund treatment can be materially different.
GOV.UK provides a Companies House change process for registered office address (AD01) and states you must tell Companies House within 14 days of the change taking place. That deadline is a legal requirement in the Companies House process, separate from any provider’s internal cancellation workflow.
For virtual office subscriptions, the sequencing matters: an address change that is not filed/accepted can leave the old address live on the register. If the subscription is then cancelled and mail is returned to sender, the company may lose sight of correspondence until the register updates.
Tide’s documentation states that mail is opened by its provider and that official mail is scanned and emailed. That implies third-party handling of correspondence as part of delivering the service you’re paying for.
From a governance perspective, the key point is that the service is designed around opening and scanning post (not merely receiving it). Businesses often treat that as an operational consideration (for example, internal policies around who can access scanned mail and how it is stored), rather than a pure pricing question.
The “pricing confusion” around virtual office products usually comes from treating the word address as a proxy for presence. Tide’s documentation makes the underlying constraint explicit: the product is an administrative address plus rules-based mail handling, not an all-purpose location service.
The subscription price is therefore paying for a specific operating model (open > categorise > scan/email > return/exception-handle) rather than for flexible address usage.
The second constraint is regulatory/public-record reality: Companies House requires an address that is appropriate for receiving post and confirming delivery, and the registered office address is publicly visible.
A virtual office product can satisfy the address requirement, but it also creates a dependency chain (register accuracy + cancellation timing + what gets scanned vs returned).
Most “unexpected costs” show up when that chain breaks – because the issue is rarely the £22.99 headline; it’s the downstream operational impact of missed correspondence.
Sources & References
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