The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) passed into law in October 2023.  The Act makes far reaching changes to UK company law which will have a significant impact on the day to day running of companies.   These changes aim to enhance transparency, combat economic crime, and support economic read more...

How many shares should your company have? What types of shares should your company issue? Read on to find out the basic information you will need to know about your company’s shares and shareholders. This is the final article in our “How to Start a Company” series. When you register read more...

Interested in starting a charity or a charitable business? Not sure if a standard limited company is the right structure for you? Read on to find out the alternative legal structures available to your business. This is the third of four articles in our “How to Start a Company” series. read more...

Want to know how to structure your company? Not sure if it should be public or private? Limited or unlimited? Read on to find out which structure is the right choice for you and your business. This is the second of four articles in our "How to Start a Company" read more...

Thinking of starting your own business? Want to know how to set up a company from scratch? Read on to find out. This is the first of four articles in our “How to Start a Company” series. Setting up a new company can be simple. It may even be a read more...

Not only does the Ostrich Position provide an affirmative answer to the question which has troubled philosophers for centuries – “does my bum look big in this?”, it also provides the Courts with a juicy target when looking to apportion blame for company failures. A recent case:  Secretary of State read more...

What is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)? CSR generally refers to the decisions and behaviours of companies that have a positive influence on areas such as ethics, the environment, diversity and human rights. Companies engaging in CSR self-regulate their role in society and the impact of their corporate actions on the read more...

The advantages of going into business with a partner are obvious – you can achieve much more as a team than as an individual, and complementary skillsets make for more effective performance. But it can sometimes be easier to get divorced than to exit a business relationship without acrimony or read more...

In our blog series we have already looked at “ What to sell – assets or shares ” and “ How to Prepare My Business for Sale ” – which deals with the housekeeping preparations that can increase the value of your business, but a frequent question is “How do read more...

Whenever two parties are discussing the sale or purchase of a business, this is usually the first point of contention – so why does it make a difference, and which should you buy? Shares When you purchase the shares of a company, you are buying all of the historical baggage read more...

Business succession is something that is all too easily overlooked when you are engaged in the day-to-day struggle of running a successful business. Very often the owners of an SME will approach retirement age with no clear idea of how to move their business on, which can frequently lead to read more...

The next few weeks should see the vast majority of businesses reopening their doors and employees being encouraged to return to the workplace. It is hoped that easing lockdown will help to kick start the economy as production and consumer spending increases. Yet at the same time government aid for read more...

Unless you are Amazon, a major supermarket or a supplier of PPE, you would be forgiven for feeling a little punch-drunk at the moment as you attempt to steer your business ship through uncharted and ever-changing waters. The Government has worked hard to provide some relief to the bulk of read more...

Allan Janes Corporate partner Iwan Emanuel will be taking part in a “Town Talk” webinar organised by HW Bidco on Tuesday 5th May at 3pm to discuss Coronavirus business support and advice. Speakers will include Steve Baker MP and advisers from Bucks Business First, Saffery Champness, Optimum Finance and Allan read more...

The Government’s Coronavirus lockdown has placed us in the unusual situation where performing a contract may, through no-one’s fault, prove impossible or even unlawful. Whilst the Coronavirus Regulations have some exemptions for essential work, a lot of important business activity is nonetheless non-essential in this time of crisis. So, if read more...

To all of our clients, friends and contacts, we thought it would be helpful to set out our own response to recent events and, in particular, how your matter will be dealt with in the coming weeks and months.  Business Continuity  Despite the recent difficulties and government directives we, as read more...

Shareholders approaching retirement are often concerned that their options to leave their business, and extract some value, may be limited, especially if they are in business with other shareholders who have different exit timetables. For most shareholders, the options are: Sell your shares to the other shareholders; Sell the entire read more...

Entrepreneur’s Relief has been an important tax break for business owners, allowing them to reduce their Capital Gains Tax liability on qualifying assets (which may be their shares in a business, or assets that they have lent to their business) to only 10%. Entrepreneur’s Relief can also apply to Trustees read more...

French employers complain these days that it’s less risky to marry someone than employ them, since the state of French employment law is such that it’s easier to divorce a person than to fire them. And, in many respects, when we enter into business with someone, it is a bit read more...

“Bona Vacantia” might sound like the sort of thing Jacob Rees-Mogg would say when giving his dog a juicy treat, but it is in fact an ancient legal doctrine which has some sharp teeth of its own. When William the Conqueror won the English crown, he claimed all English land read more...

Most people who are offered a directorship are usually so pleased to get a seat “with the grown-ups” that they rarely stop to think about what being a director involves, and what it requires of them. In owner-managed businesses, directors who are also shareholders often assume that they can do read more...

Where Board directors do not see eye-to-eye, there is sometimes a complaint by one or more directors that they are being denied access to key financial information, and are being squeezed out of the decision-making process. So what rights do directors have to access company information? The law on this read more...