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What do English people call an association of two or more individuals or companies engaged in a solitary business enterprise for profit without actual partnership or incorporation?

Is there a single word to describe this association?

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2  
I think by default all such formations (company, LLP, conglomerate, etc) are considered 'for profit' that is, it is assumed for-profit and goes unsaid, and if it is not-for-profit it is almost always said, so that if there is no mention, then it's for-profit. So the word if needed would be 'for-profit' but is not really needed, implied by its absence. – Mitch Apr 18 '12 at 21:31

2 Answers

up vote 5 down vote

Consortium.

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Why the downvote? – user20276 Apr 18 '12 at 22:17
up vote 3 down vote

In addition to consortium (a correct term), cooperative and syndicate are suitable.

Also (and this not legal advice) in the US, at least, if two or more individuals engage in a business enterprise for profit, then this is an 'actual partnership' whether or not you file papers declaring such.

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The same is pretty much true of Consortia though. They can be profit or not-for-profit. – Mark Beadles Apr 18 '12 at 21:06
I don't know where you mean by "common". I myself work for a non-profit consortium, a common usage in Academia and Research. – Mark Beadles Apr 18 '12 at 21:08
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@NathanC.Tresch perhaps that is your experience, but without any data to back it up (and I would imagine there is none, since google returns a similar number of results for "non-profit consortium" and "for-profit consortium"), I think Mark's first comment is valid here. – Cameron Apr 18 '12 at 21:45
Cleaned up, I'll delete this one also. – user20276 Apr 18 '12 at 21:52
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+1 for the point (which I'm sure also applies in Britain) that from the state's point of view it's largely irrelevant whether the "consortium" (not a word which I think has any special legal meaning here) registers itself as a partnership, corporation, or whatever. So far as the state is concerned, if it walks, talks, and quacks like a duck, it is a duck. In the UK, once they've decided that they might even fine you for failing to register your "duckness" when you first became a duck! – FumbleFingers Apr 18 '12 at 22:10
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