Company, commercial and business law
Protect yourself and your business with our knowledgeable and experienced commercial lawyers.
We act for new business start-ups, owner-managed businesses and SMEs and have experience across a variety of sectors including:
- commercial and professional services
- food and beverage
- manufacturing
- media and design
- retail
- software and technology services
Our prices are fair and competitive. See the section below.
how we can help you
the cost of business transactions.
When acquiring or taking over a business or drafting business agreements, most people like a fixed price agreement so they know how much money to budget. We like to work this way too. Even so, the circumstances of your acquisition or takeover can affect the final legal costs of the transaction.
Drafting agreements such as straightforward share purchase agreements might take only a few hours, but other aspects can affect the final price. Here are the main factors affecting the legal costs involved in acquiring or taking over a business.
Earn-out provisions.
These must be carefully thought out to accurately reflect all parties’ intentions. They often have to be conditional upon certain levels of income, and mechanisms must be built-in for financial reconciliation.
Determining and finalising terms.
Agreeing express terms and reaching a final draft that all parties are happy with can take a lot of time. It’s common to start discussing all terms and finish up with one or two terms continuing under discussion for further negotiation and compromise.
Time for discussion and agreement.
Transactions that are subject to discussion, adjustment and agreement by various parties through their lawyers, can result in several days’ work. In contrast, a basic agreement that will be agreed by all, where no other lawyers are involved, is relatively straightforward.
Due diligence.
In order to protect you we must tailor the questions to the transaction, scrutinise responses and documents, work with accountants, and investigate potential risks. We must then adjust the transactional documents to present against potential problems.
In summary.
Our priority is to work fairly and transparently. For this reason, we offer a fixed basic price once we’ve discussed your transaction with you.
As anyone running a bar, pub or restaurant knows, the admin and management involved can sometimes become overwhelming.
Let us help you with the legal administration so you can focus on what you really love – entertaining your customers.
how we help you.
With a team of expert lawyers who have been helping licensed premises’ owners for over 30 years, we can help you with any number of issues including:
- Buying a new business
- Contracts
- Dilapidations issues
- Employment
- Finance
- Franchise
- Leases
- Licensing and other statutory requirements
- Property related matters
- Regulating the relationship between the owner-managers
- Selling your business
working with us.
Working with us gives you access to our specialist knowledge and experience in this sector of the licensed trade.
Having successfully worked alongside some of the biggest pub companies, including Enterprise Inns, Fuller’s, Punch Taverns and Wellington Pub Company, our lawyers have concluded many successful deals for our clients.
how we can help.
Our company, commercial and business lawyers can help you by:
- discussing the shareholders’ business aims and objectives with them
- preparing and negotiating a shareholders or joint venture agreement
- advising shareholders on appropriate mechanisms for transferring shares and extracting value from the company
- dealing with deadlock and identifying ways to resolve it
- dealing with the eventual sale of the business
- advising ways to terminate the business relationship if things don’t work out
- advising ways to deal with the death of a shareholder, including cross option agreements
What would happen to your business if you, or one of your fellow shareholders, died or became seriously or terminally ill and had to retire?
Although your company’s articles of association may detail how shares are to be dealt with on death or retirement and may even set out valuation provisions, losing a key director shareholder is likely to have a serious impact on your business and the company may not have enough money to buy back those shares.
Being unable to buy back a deceased or seriously ill shareholder’s shares, or having no agreement in place to manage this, could lead to expensive legal disputes, loss of control of the company and financial difficulties for your loved ones.
how we help you.
Our company, commercial and business lawyers are experts in creating company wills. We can:
- review your current arrangements
- suggest solutions
- put an agreement in place to ensure your shares can be bought by the remaining shareholders at a fair price for the benefit of your beneficiaries
Very few people set up their own business because they love legal administration. But starting up your own business means there’s a surprisingly large amount of red tape for you to contend with.
Pass your legal administration over to us so you can get on with running your business.
how we help you.
Our team of specialists have been advising businesses for over 35 years – let us help you too.
Let us help you with:
- Business start ups
- Shareholder agreements
- Limited companies
- Companies limited by guarantee
- General partnerships
- Limited liability partnerships
- Joint venture companies
working with us.
Work with us for a refreshing take on legal support for your business start-up. You will benefit from:
- Direct access to a dedicated, specialist lawyer
- Regular and consistent reports to stay updated
- A flexible working style with out of hours support if necessary
- A realistic price to suit your budget
Survival in business is about more than making money. You must also follow essential but time-consuming – and sometimes confusing legal formalities, regulations and administration.
Pass your legal administration onto our company secretarial service to cover your legal obligations and you can get on with running your business.
how we help you.
Our team of specialists can take care of:
- Board minutes
- Companies House filings
- Registered office
- Resolutions
- Statutory books
reduce your personal risk.
Failure to comply with directors’ statutory obligations can be a serious matter. Our solicitors know how to keep you out of trouble and compliant with the minefield of legislation.
working with us.
Work with us for an easier way to deal with company secretarial duties. You will benefit from:
- Quality, experienced solicitors on hand to support and advise you
- Regular and consistent reports to stay updated
- A flexible working style with out of hours support if necessary
- A realistic price to suit your budget
Buying or selling a business is exciting but can also be challenging and stressful. Deal with the many legal formalities by working with a specialist lawyer.
No matter whether you’re experienced or a first timer, use our experience and knowledge to make the sale or purchase or your business a smoother and less stressful task.
how we help you.
Our company, commercial and business lawyers have decades of experience in helping with the buying and selling of businesses. Let us help you too.
We can help you with:
- Preparing a business for sale
- Structuring a deal
- Drawing up heads of terms
- Negotiating the sale agreement and related legal documents
- Advising on staff-related issues
- Business investigation and disclosure
- Allocating legal and commercial risk
- Co-ordinating funders and other advisers to meet completion deadlines
- Corporate mergers & acquisitions
- Company share sales and purchases
- Sales and purchases of small businesses
- Sales and purchases of family owned businesses
Briefing your lawyer early in the process means they can become an important part of your team and more quickly understand the task in hand.
working with us.
Work with us for a refreshing take on legal support for your business start-up. You will benefit from:
- Direct access to a dedicated, specialist lawyer
- Regular and consistent reports to stay updated
- A flexible working style with out of hours support if necessary
- A realistic price to suit your budget
Spending time on well-written contracts and agreements with your customers and suppliers will help save your business time and money.
Not only can they help you get paid on time and obtain a strategic advantage, they can also prevent expensive court actions arguing over uncertain terms and conditions.
Use our service for peace of mind that your business is protected.
how we help you.
Documents drafted or approved by our lawyers mean you know where you stand. You’ll know exactly what your obligations are, what you need to do and when, and how much you are going to be paid.
Trust our team of specialist solicitors to help you with:
- Shareholder agreements
- Terms and conditions of business
- Sale of goods agreements
- Supply of services agreements
- Consultancy agreements
- Distribution agreements
- Agency agreements
- Limited liability partnership agreements
- Partnership agreements
- Joint venture agreements
As one of our clients, you can take advantage of our business health check. We will review your existing terms and conditions and then identify the extent of any commercial exposure and suggest the improvements to help strengthen your position.
working with us.
Work with us for our experienced approach to business contracts and agreements. With access to experienced, specialist lawyers and a realistic price to suit your budget.
Our Lawyers.
Sophie Kimber
Andrew Petchey
