Shareholder Agreements and Business Continuity

If so, without careful planning, there are many potential situations that pose a threat to your business. For example, what would happen to your business if:

• A shareholder died?
• A shareholder became incapacitated or wanted to retire?
• A shareholder became bankrupt?

In each of these cases, the stability of your business could be threatened. Would you have the right to buy this person’s shares, or prevent their spouse taking a major stake in the firm? Would you still have to pay the same dividends, even though the person could no longer work?

To remove uncertainties like these, a Shareholder Agreement can set out an agreement between a company’s owners, including how they want it to be run and how they will deal with certain events as they arise. They can cover many other eventualities, such as:

• What if some owners want to issue more shares?
• What if they want to raise finance or attract investment?
• What happens if shareholders disagree?
• What happens if most shareholders want to sell the business, but a minority shareholder won’t sell?
• What happens if a director shareholder leaves and poaches clients?

Our legal team can ensure that you have a robust Shareholder Agreement in place, guarding against these and other eventualities – which,if you are a THP client already, our accountants will have a unique insight into. We can also draft a Lasting Business Power of Attorney for you and fellow business owners. This can ensure that:

• A person you trust can immediately take over your financial and business affairs if you become incapacitated
• You avoid the delay and expense of applying to the Court of Protection for someone to be appointed your deputy – vital if there are orders to be fulfilled and wages to be paid.

So, ensure your future business interests are protected in law – speak to our legal team today and arrange a free, advisory appointment.