I believe the suggestion in the past has been to buy the business which operates the AOC rather than create your own due to the time and hurdles involved. However there are those on the forum who can help with the production of the documentation and you retail full control via this route. In the grand scheme of operating any kind of helicopter business £16K is not a lot of money....
Some businesses do operate under borrowed AOC's but they do tend to be looked down on and resented by those who have spent time and money following the established route.