If you own a business carried on through a company and decide to sell, should you sell the shares in the company, or just sell the business assets? The right answer will often be dictated by tax considerations, but there are also legal and administrative issues…
EveryMonth (June 2010): Selling Private Companies – The Legal Process
Buying a private company can seem deceptively simple: you can do it by completing a single-page form! But don’t be seduced by the idea of that ‘simple’ one-page form: because of the potential liabilities, private companies are rarely bought and sold on the basis of this alone. One of the first things to consider if you are thinking about acquiring a company is ‘due diligence’: investigating …
EveryMonth (May 2010): How should you handle a Shareholder Dispute?
If you are unfortunate enough to be involved in a shareholders’ dispute, legal issues are likely to be only part of the mix, especially if yours is a family business. You need advisers who are sensitive about both the business and people issues and take these into account in finding a workable solution…
EveryMonth (March 2010): How Can You Help Your Company Survive a Cash Crisis?
A recent survey by PWC and the Daily Telegraph suggests that lack of support from lenders, scarcity of funding and bad management are the driving factors pushing companies towards failure. The report criticises lenders reluctant to spend time and money on nursing a company back to health, preferring…
EveryMonth (Feb 2010): Are Shareholder’s Agreements a Good Idea?
You’ve made the decision – you’re really going to set up your own business. You’ve taken advice, and it seems the best way forward for you and your team is to create a limited company. Do you need a shareholders’ agreement?
Actually, a better first question for the entrepreneur is, “Should I retain 100% ownership?”…
