From setting up to selling on.
Company formation
Incorporating a private company limited by shares, the constitution, the first directors and secretary, the share allotment, and the beneficial ownership filing.
Shareholders agreements
Who decides what, what happens if one of you wants out, what happens if one of you dies, and how a deadlock is broken. The document nobody wants until they need it.
Commercial leases
Agreements for lease, rent review, break clauses, repair obligations, assignment and subletting, and the dilapidations bill at the end of the term.
Employment documents
Contracts of employment, the written statement of terms, handbooks, disciplinary and grievance procedures, and the process where a dismissal is being considered.
Contracts and terms of trade
Supply agreements, terms and conditions, retention of title clauses, and the letters that get an invoice paid without going to court.
Buying or selling a business
Share sale or asset sale, heads of terms, due diligence, warranties, the treatment of staff on a transfer, and the completion mechanics.
Four conversations that are cheap now.
Each of these takes an hour when the business is calm, and weeks when it is not.
Put the shareholding in writing
Two people who agree completely today will not agree on everything in five years. A short agreement now decides how that is handled then.
Read the lease before you sign it
A repair covenant, an upwards only rent review or a personal guarantee from a director can outlast the business itself. These are the clauses to look at first.
Issue contracts on day one
There is a statutory obligation to give an employee core terms in writing within five days, and a full written statement within a month. Most disputes we see start with a missing document.
Plan the exit before you need it
Retirement relief, a transfer to a family member, or a sale to a third party all want different groundwork. Two years of preparation is normal, and it interacts with your will.
Your guide, with your own figures.
Read the steps, try the calculator, then create a printable guide with your details to bring to your first appointment.
Getting paid: from invoice to judgment
Every business carries a debtor who has stopped answering the phone. There is a clear path from overdue invoice to payment. This guide sets it out.
Read it, then create your personalised guideSigning a commercial lease
A commercial lease is often the biggest contract a small business ever signs, and the hardest to get out of. This guide shows you what to check.
Read it, then create your personalised guide