Entrepreneurs & business owners  

Building a successful business takes drive and determination. Appointing the right legal and professional advisers to guide you in a confidential, efficient and empathetic manner can reduce the burden you face, allowing you to focus on the day-to-day running of the business.

We advise business owners throughout the whole business lifecycle including financing, investment, acquisitions, executive change, day-to-day governance, operational management, exit, and anything else that might crop up along the way.

Selling a business 

The decision to seek an exit marks the beginning of an exciting, yet challenging period. While your primary consideration in selling the business may be the quantum of the offer, you will inevitably have other concerns that require careful consideration and effective negotiation. These may include the structure of the offer, your future involvement in the business, whether a buyer will preserve the legacy of the business and look after current employees, and crucially, ensuring that the buyer has the capacity to complete the deal on the terms (both financial and timeline) proposed.

Buying a business 

We are able to facilitate a business purchase to achieve the best possible terms for our clients, taking into account the nature of the acquisition and appetite for risk. Whether it is a share purchase or an asset purchase our team have the requisite experience and commerciality to complete the transaction on time and on budget.

Management buy-outs (MBOs) and management buy-ins (MBIs)

Buying or selling a business using an MBI or MBO can be complicated as there are many parties involved, all with competing interests and priorities. Our expert team are able to provide business owners and management teams with tailored legal advice to guide them successfully through the complex process to achieve their goals. 

Protecting your wealth

As a business owner, you will invest considerable time and money into the development of your business. Our private wealth advisers work closely with business owners to ensure that the wealth that is created is protected for the future.

Protecting cashflow

At every stage of a business lifecycle, protecting cashflow is critical to operational resilience, even more so as the UK economy faces forecasts of a recession. We can support business owners whether it is raising financing through a lender, restructuring your finances to address liquidity challenges, ensuring that you receive the income that you expect from your customers without delay, or claiming all the innovation tax and property tax incentives that your business is entitled to receive.

Our services to entrepreneurs and business owners include advising on:

• M&A transactions including buying and selling businesses and receiving private equity investment
• setting up employee ownership trusts;
• business ownership disputes;
• raising, refinancing and restructuring debt;
• the administrative and regulatory duties of company directors duties and corporate governance matters;
• all aspects of professional negligence cases (whether that advice has been given by a solicitor, accountant, tax adviser, financial adviser, or property or construction professional);
• insurance policy coverage disputes; and
• the effective use of restrictive covenants.