Whenever a business has more than one investor it is a good idea to have an agreement in place which sets out how decisions will be made, how disagreements ought to be dealt with, the procedure to be followed if an investor wants to leave and the consequences if one of you becomes incapacitated or dies, or if the value of your investment becomes relevant in a corporate transaction or divorce settlement.
Such an agreement is particularly important for private companies with multiple shareholders, some of whom may have more voting rights than others and all of whom will want a say in decisions that have the potential to affect the value of their investment.
At Hatten Wyatt Solicitors in Kent, our team of experienced corporate and commercial lawyers can draft a shareholder’s agreement tailored to your requirements which covers, among other things:
- the voting rights each investor will have;
- the votes required for certain decisions to be made;
- those decisions for which unanimous approval will be required;
- a right of first refusal for existing shareholders where an investor wants to sell their shares;
- restrictions on the sale or transfer of shares to third parties;
- the right of existing shareholders to buy the shares of an incapacitated or deceased shareholder for a pre-agreed sum;
- how a shareholder’s interests in the business will be dealt with if their shares need to be sold;
- the rights of shareholders if the business is restructured;
- safeguards to protect the interests of minority shareholders;
- a mechanism to prevent minority shareholders thwarting a business sale or other corporate transaction;
- a mechanism for forcing a disinterested shareholder to leave the business; and
- a procedure for resolving disputes within the business
Advising businesses throughout Gravesend, Kent and beyond
We have offices in Maidstone, Gravesend, Tonbridge, Chatham and Tenterden.
We can also offer meetings at your place of business or via a skype conference call where needed.
Funding
We offer an initial appointment to discuss your requirements at a fixed cost of £280 plus VAT. After that we can arrange flexible payment terms, including monthly billing to help you budget.
Get in touch with our shareholder agreement solicitors in Gravesend, Kent
If you need help with a shareholder agreement, please get in touch to see how we can assist. You can call us on 01474 35 11 99 or use our contact form and we will call you.