January deal and transaction round-up

January has gone out like the whirlwind that it was. The Corporate Team has been very busy following on from the excitement of December. We pulled out all the stops to complete a multi-million pound share sale for a client selling their business, incredibly within ten days of us starting work on the transaction. When there is a need for speed, you can, with the right team, and motivated buyers and sellers complete the deal in a very short period of time. Especially important when buyers have hard deadlines to meet and tranche funding to draw down. 

A Growing Sector

January has also seen the drafting of a new shareholders’ agreement for a tech company. This is a growing sector in the region and one we are pleased to support. For businesses of this type that are on a fast growth trajectory, it is important to consider all of the terms carefully to ensure everyone is happy with the build timeframe and eventual exit terms.

We have also helped an owner/managed business within the hospitality industry to sell the business on to enable them to fulfil their retirement plans. Many business owners are surprised at the amount of legal work that needs to go into these deals, but the process is really the same whether it is a £500k or £5m business sale. Due diligence is vital and exit terms need to be carefully considered to ensure all parties are happy.

We have also been working on an interesting share buyback on behalf of a minority shareholder. This also required us to work closely with our employment and dispute resolution teams to help the individual negotiate a settlement agreement as they were an exiting employee of the business. Shareholder disputes can be complicated to unpick and often involves long negotiations to establish a price which everyone is happy with.

If you would like to talk to the team about any of these issues or for support for your business, please get in touch with our team.

Sarah Astley can be contacted at s.astley@gullands.com