We are often approached by clients to draft a “shareholders’ agreement” for their Company. This is a good idea and clients are often prompted by their accountant or financial adviser to have such an agreement in place. However, that is only half the story. We also must consider (in this context) the Articles of Association… Read more »
Many businesses are continuing to reel from the Coronavirus pandemic and the effects of the lockdown. It is clear that this is not going away anytime soon. As a result, the majority of businesses will be, and will continue to be, significantly impacted. The concept of an “act of god” or “extraordinary circumstances” is not… Read more »
Companies House has announced temporary changes to its strike off policy and approach to late filing penalties to support companies affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in meeting their legal responsibilities. The new measures include: Pausing the strike off process to prevent companies from being dissolved When a company makes a voluntary application for strike off,… Read more »
Although there is no longer any statutory requirement for private companies limited by shares to hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the same way as public companies, they may still be required to do so by their existing articles of association, or still maintain the practice of holding them once a year. If they… Read more »
As a result of Covid-19, Companies House has confirmed that companies will be able to apply for an immediate three-month extension period to file their accounts. Businesses were able to apply to make such an extension application from 25th March 2020. There are some exceptions where COVID-19companies have previously applied for an extension to their… Read more »
The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) is the UK’s implementation of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations). The law controls how personal information is used by businesses and other organisations. It was designed to protect the personal data and information relating to individuals and also boosts the individual’s rights and gives them more control over… Read more »
If you are looking at the options available for exiting your business, an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) may be worth considering. Previously, an individual looking to sell their shares in their company to a trust for the benefit of the employees faced a potentially significant tax charge. However, since the introduction of the EOT under… Read more »
Non disclosure agreements (NDAs) – or confidentiality agreements – have hit the headlines in recent months, as a number of well-known entrepreneurs have attempted to limit public disclosure of their sometimes dubious dealings with employees. However, many businesses continue to have a legitimate need to protect their trade secrets, software or valuable confidential information such as… Read more »
Selling a business can involve many hard decisions. We often see the emotional attachment that owners and family members have to their business and the soul destroying impact when the buyers’ advisers embark on the due diligence process. This scrutiny can result in flaws that owners didn’t know existed being revealed, hence achieving the objective… Read more »
In our previous blog, Important changes to entrepreneurs’ relief announced in autumn 2018 budget, we explained how the proposed changes set out in the Autumn Budget 2018 appear to have added additional conditions that must be met in order for an individual shareholder to qualify for entrepreneur’s relief to reduce their Capital Gains Tax liability to… Read more »
