Business Law

Corporate and Commercial: What is a shareholders’ agreement? A shareholders’ agreement is a contract between the shareholders in a company, setting out how the company will be owned and run. There is no legal requirement to have a one, but they can cover useful areas such as how decisions will be made, dividend payments, who shares can be transferred to (along with how they will be valued) and how funding…

Corporate and Commercial: What are warranties and indemnities in the context of a business sale? Warranties are statements made by the seller of the business about the condition of the business that is being sold. If a warranty turns out to be incorrect and the value of the business is reduced as a result, the buyer can claim damages (money) from the seller to cover the loss in value. Warranties…

Corporate and Commercial: What is due diligence in the context of a business sale? When selling a business, there is no legal requirements for the seller to disclose any issues or liabilities to the buyer. The buyer can ask questions and request information about the business, which is known as due diligence and forms an important part of the process of buying a business.The answers and information provided by the…

Debt Recovery: Someone is threatening to bankrupt me, what should I do? First – do you admit owing the money? If not, then get in touch because where there is a “genuine dispute” as to a debt, a creditor cannot make someone bankrupt (or liquidate a company). However, if you receive any formal documents then there are very strict time limits for responding so don’t delay.If you admit owing the…

Debt Recovery: Someone can’t pay me – can I bankrupt them? The short answer is yes – but only where there isn’t a dispute as to the debt; and there is still a process to follow.You should also consider if bankruptcy is likely to get you paid at a proportionate cost, other options are available. Our debt recovery team can provide you with details of all of the options and…

The legal process to wind up a limited company may seem as a straight-forward technical process.

The number of insolvencies has fallen slightly but there are fears that the figures could soon rise and that ‘a wave of business closures could be on the horizon’. Sam Lyon Associate Solicitor and Head of Corporate & Commercial reports. Corporate insolvencies decreased to 856 in October 2020 compared to September’s figure of 925 and remained well below October 2019’s figure of 1,485. Colin Haig, president of insolvency at trade…

A cryptocurrency firm has successfully taken legal action to prevent its former managing director competing against it and from revealing confidential information. Mark Aspin Director and Head of Dispute Resolution reports. The case involved Gemini Europe Ltd and Sawyer (2020). Gemini was part of a group of companies dealing in cryptocurrencies. In November 2019, it had engaged Mr Sawyer as its managing director. The contract included a non-compete clause preventing…

With the pandemic still causing huge problems for many businesses, it’s perhaps not surprising that many remain focussed on survival without too much thought for the future. If possible, however, it’s still important to consider what will happen once the pandemic is over, especially if you are planning to retire from your business and hand it over to the next generation. It could even be that a reduction in business…

A company has been granted a court order preventing a former employee from disclosing or using its confidential information after they copied files, Mark Aspin Director & Head of Dispute Resolution reports. The company, Rentrack Ltd, collected ticket sales data for cinemas. One of its employees, Mr Green, was approached by a competitor and offered a job in June 2020. You’re leaving your job, can you copy files? Before resigning,…