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Corporate and Commercial Services
Our specialist skills and experience can pave the way to helping you start a business, obtain finance agreements, draw up and agree contracts, buy and sell a business or put shareholder and partnership agreements in place. We can also ensure your copyright or intellectual property rights are protected. At the opposite end of the scale we can supply debt recovery services or deal with insolvency issues.
Business start-up
Setting up your own business can be the most exciting and satisfying decision you ever make. But while the potential rewards can be enormous, so can the risks. Our dedicated team can ensure you receive help and advice to provide a sound platform to start your business venture.
During the initial discussion or meeting we can help you decide if you should operate as a sole trader, form a partnership, an LLP, or form a limited company. We can also examine if more recent alternatives such as self-employed agencies or franchising, provide better scope. Whatever your plans, our expertise and experience is designed to help make your venture a success.
Finance agreements
We can help you with advice on financing and acquiring premises (where required).
Contracts
If your business is to be fully protected in the event of a dispute it is essential that you get professionally drafted contracts, or standard terms of business, drawn up. Written contracts enable you to have an exact record of what you will provide as a service or goods for customers. It should also encompass related matters, such as the method and timing of payments due.
We can draft contracts and terms of business to ensure your business is protected at outset.
Buying and selling businesses
Businesses evolve and change all the time, while new opportunities arise for diversifying, changing or even selling the type of business you are involved in. Irrespective of whether you wish to buy or sell a business, our team of specialists can guide you through the stages and requirements to provide smooth passage; ensuring no surprises or liabilities emerge in the future.
Shareholder and partnership agreements
Our team can help you to set up your limited company, appoint the directors and obtain the Certificate of Incorporation for a Private Limited Company and Memorandum and Articles of Association required to commence trading. We can also provide a critical reference point for guidance on the duties and responsibilities of Directors and Officers of the company.
If your business is a partnership you should ensure a formal Partnership Deed is drawn up to reflect the terms agreed between yourself and the other partners. It is important to remember that if a deed is not in place, the partnership may need to be dissolved in the event of a dispute; you may also face difficulties and potential court action to get rid of a disruptive partner.
If you choose to have a limited liability partnership we can advise on the Members’ Agreement and form the LLP for you.
There are various issues to consider at the outset, for example: who the partners are, the division of shares and how profits (and losses) are shared. Advice from our team of specialists during this stage is vital and the Partnership Deed or Members’ Agreement should also be reviewed periodically, to take account of any changes within the partnership, e.g. the inclusion of new partners.
Copyright and intellectual property rights
Copyright gives the creators of specific types of items the right to decide how it is used. Any kind of intellectual property, such as original literature, documents, typographic or published editions of work, sound recordings (such as CDs) and films (including VCRs and DVDs) are classed as being protected by copyright.
If these are key to the success of your business, it is vital you protect your rights in the event that a competitor or other source uses it, or adapts it for their own purposes. We can provide advice on your rights and the scope for pursuing legal means to apply your copyright and prevent ongoing use of the item concerned.
Debt recovery services
We can help your business maintain cash flow by providing debt recovery services and pursuing debtors on your behalf. From recovering a single debt to dealing with all your debt recovery work we aim to recover unpaid debts quickly and cost-effectively, but always with a view to protecting the business relationship between clients and their debtors.
To view our Credit Control Road Map which includes specimen letters and forms click here.
Business crime
The regulatory regime plays a large part in the lives of all businesses. We are able to deal with:
- Health & Safety investigations/prosecutions
- fraud
- environmental offences
- food safety offences (including restaurants/hotels)
- consumer protection/Trading Standards
- regulatory Road Traffic offences
- HM Revenue & Customs investigations
Terms of trading
Terms of trading are important so that the parties to a transaction are clear as to where their responsibilities lie. Key areas to be covered include:
- definition of goods and/or services
- price
- time for payment
- consequences of late payment
- time for delivery of goods and/or time for performance of services
- passing of ownership and risk where the trade is in goods
- warranties and liability
- rights in relation to intellectual property
