Services > Business & Employment Law
Corporate and commercial services
 Our specialist skills and experience can path the way to helping you start a business, obtain finance agreements, draw up and agree contracts, buy and sell a business or put shareholder and partnership agreements in place. We can also ensure your copyright or intellectual property rights are protected. At the opposite end of the scale we can supply debt recovery services or deal with insolvency issues.
Business start-up
Setting up your own business can be the most exciting and satisfying decision you ever make. But while the potential rewards can be enormous, so can the risks. Our dedicated team can ensure you receive help and advice to provide a sound platform to start your business venture.
During the initial discussion or meeting we can help you decide if you should operate as a sole trader, form a partnership or form a limited company. We can also examine if more recent alternatives such as self-employed agencies or franchising, provide better scope. Whatever your plans, we are here to help make your venture a success.
Contracts
If your business is to be fully protected in the event of a dispute it is essential that you get professionally drafted contracts, or standard terms of business, drawn up. Written contracts enable you to have an exact record of what you will provide as a service or goods for customers. It should also encompass related matters, such as the method and timing of payments due.
We can draft contracts and terms of business to ensure your business is protected at outset.
Buying and selling businesses
Businesses evolve and change all the time, while new opportunities arise for diversifying, changing or even selling the type of business you are involved in. Irrespective of whether you wish to buy or sell a business, our team can guide you through the stages and requirements to provide smooth passage; ensuring no surprises or liabilities emerge in the future.
Shareholder and partnership agreements
Companies
If your business is to operate as a limited company you must appoint at least one director who must be a natural person (unless the company’s articles require more than one). A private company does not need a company secretary unless the company’s articles require one. A public company must have at least two directors and a company secretary who must be formally qualified. The company secretary is responsible for ensuring that all legal obligations are met and in many cases, the individual concerned has to rely heavily on the expertise of others to provide guidance on their duties and responsibilities.
We can help you to set up your limited company, appoint the directors and obtain the Certificate of Incorporation for a Private Limited Company and Memorandum and Articles of Association required to commence trading.
Shareholders’ Agreements
You may also want to consider a Shareholders’ Agreement. This can be used where two or more parties wish to carry on business together as a limited company and the members would wish to bind themselves either to preserve the status quo or to provide that if one or more member(s) wish to withdraw from the company, the other members should have the right to purchase or find purchasers for the shares (i.e. a right of pre-emption of first refusal on the shares), rather than them being sold to an outsider. This particularly important where the voting strength is heavily unbalanced.
Partnerships
If your business is a partnership you should ensure a formal Partnership Deed is drawn up to reflect the terms agreed between yourself and the other partners. It is important to remember that if a deed is not in place, the partnership may need to be dissolved in the event of a dispute; you may also face difficulties and potential court action to get rid of a disruptive partner.
There are various issues to consider at outset, for example: who the partners are, the division of shares and how profits (and losses) are shared. We recommend that a Partnership Agreement is drawn up at the outset of your business and reviewed periodically, to take account of any changes within the partnership, e.g. the inclusion of new partners.
Debt recovery services
We can help your business maintain cash flow by providing debt recovery services and pursuing debtors on your behalf. From recovering a single debt to dealing with all your debt recovery work we aim to recover unpaid debts quickly and cost-effectively, but always with a view to protecting the business relationship between clients and their debtors.
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