Shareholders

A shareholders agreement can be created at any point during the lifetime of the company; it can also be reviewed and updated. It’s therefore advisable not to defer creating an agreement because of anticipated changes because in the event of a disagreement, it may be crucial.

Some of the areas you might want to consider for inclusion in your shareholders agreement are:

• Process for new shareholders to join
• Process for the issue of new shares
• How shares can be bought or sold, including forced sales
• Any restrictions which apply to the transfer of shares
• The dividend policy for the business, including what proportion of profits will be retained
• Changes to the Articles of Association
• Using company assets to facilitate borrowing, or large-value loans
• The make-up of the board of directors and the terms of their remuneration
• How the value of shares will be calculated
• How the business can re-purchase shares back from a shareholder
• Whether minority shareholders will be permitted a veto on key issues
• The dispute resolution process if the share value cannot be agreed
• The activities the company will partake in
• Future borrowing and funding
• Any decisions which require a unanimous decision from all shareholders
• Disposal or acquisition of premises
• How illness or other interruptions to a shareholder’s capability will be managed
• Removal or appointment of directors
• Winding up of the company
• Process for resolving a management deadlock on operational or strategic issues
• Timescales and exit routes

Whether you are considering updating your shareholders agreement or creating a brand new agreement, we can help to ensure the document is legally viable and executable.

Many ask us ‘what’s different about you?’ and we like to reply, ‘because we go the extra mile’. We see our work as building and maintaining good business relationships rather than just earning fees. How we do this is by keeping in constant contact with our clients and intermediaries. From pre to post instruction we ensure that our clients are informed of all legal issues that may impact their business and therefore lives. That is why we provide daily or weekly updates to ALL of our clients whether there is anything to tell them or not (we don’t charge for this we just see it as part of our service). We like our clients to rest peacefully knowing that when we are instructed, and we say ‘we will take it from here’ they know we mean it.

The world is changing, and many individuals are realising that lifestyle is as vital to them as is income. We are the lucky ones who can hand pick lawyers who can provide the best quality advice but at outer city costs. Our offices are in North West London which may not be the most salubrious in the market but at the same time this allows us to charge our clients for what they pay for, our advice NOT our office space.

ALL our lawyers have previously worked in large city-based law firms and continue to practise and offer  the same high level service  they provided to clients in the City but without the pressure and demands often dictated by City law firm. This allows us to be competitive on our fees without compromising our service.

All in all, our clients win, which is the way we like it.

All our clients benefit from the same high level of care and attention whether the instruction is big or small. At the outset of each matter, we discuss the entire process with our clients, including the costs, potential outcomes and issues associated. This is to ensure clients are fully aware, knowledgeable and are in control always. Supporting and ensuring we provide the highest level of services, we offer our constant contact process with the partner or barrister leading  your file, a document log in for matters which are for larger and more complicated instructions and on-going support post transaction should our clients require it. Our aim is not just to get the work done, but to make our clients’ lives easier as we do it, which is why we ensure that our clients have regular access to the resources they need from us.