Corporate law

Corporate transactions and company structures can have significant legal, financial and commercial implications for businesses, shareholders, investors and management teams. Whether a business is growing, restructuring, taking investment or preparing for sale, careful legal advice and transaction management can be critical.

We advise businesses, shareholders, directors, investors and management teams on a wide range of corporate law matters and transactions, including acquisitions and disposals, shareholder arrangements, investment transactions, restructures and wider strategic corporate projects.

We act for owner-managed businesses, SMEs, larger companies and investors across a range of sectors.

Why Clients Instruct Us

Corporate transactions are rarely simply legal exercises. They often involve wider strategic, financial and operational considerations, together with negotiations between shareholders, investors, lenders and management teams.

Clients instruct us not simply to prepare legal documents, but to help structure transactions, negotiate terms, manage risk and deal with issues as they arise throughout the process.

Our work regularly involves:

• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating transaction documentation

• Coordinating with accountants, tax advisers and lenders

• Managing negotiations between stakeholders

• Advising on shareholder rights and protections

• Assisting with acquisitions, disposals and investment transactions

• Supporting restructuring and growth strategies

Our approach is commercial, pragmatic and focused on helping clients complete transactions efficiently while protecting their longer-term interests.

We provide a nationwide specialist service with our main centres of operation and offices for corporate law being in Central London, Peterborough and Warrington.

Company Law

Statutory company law is generally fairly "light touch". This provides businesses with considerable flexibility but that flexibility can also mean that important legal issues need to be calrified and protected proactively through bespoke legal documentation and governance arrangements.

We advise on:

• Protecting Founders and Existing Shareholders – ensuring appropriate voting rights, reserved matters, veto rights and decision-making controls are in place as businesses grow and ownership changes.

• Bringing in Investors – structuring investment rounds, creating new share classes and balancing investor protections against founder control.

• Shareholder and Director Roles – clarifying who is responsible for what, how decisions are made and how authority is exercised as management teams expand.

• Rewarding and Retaining Key People – implementing share incentive arrangements and other ownership structures designed to attract and retain talent.

• Preparing for Future Borrowing, Investment or Sale – ensuring company structures, constitutional documents and governance arrangements are suitable for lenders, investors and potential buyers.

• Dealing with Shareholder Departures and Ownership Changes – planning for exits, share transfers, succession and unforeseen events before they become contentious.

We work with business owners, directors and shareholders to put robust legal frameworks in place that support growth, reduce risk and help avoid problems before they arise.

Our work on corporate transactions

Corporate transactions often involve extensive strategy, negotiation and legal documentation, particularly where there are multiple shareholders, investors or advisers involved.

We regularly advise on draft, review and negotiate the vital documents underpinning a transaction, whether sale, purchase, investment or restructure.

Our role is far more than just working on documents. We use our experience to ensure the legal arrangements maximise benefits and reduce risk for our clients.

Acquisitions, Investment and Restructuring

We advise on a broad range of corporate transactions and projects, including:

• Business sales and acquisitions

• Share and asset sales

• Private equity and investment transactions

• Shareholder agreements and governance arrangements

• Group restructuring and reorganisation

• Shareholder exits and ownership changes

• Joint ventures

• Management buyouts and buy-ins

These matters often involve close coordination with accountants, tax advisers and lenders to ensure the wider commercial objectives are properly addressed.

Contact Us

If you require advice on a corporate transaction or wider corporate law matter, please contact our team to discuss how we can assist. Early legal advice can often help identify risk, improve negotiating positions and ensure transactions are structured effectively from the outset.