Shareholder Agreements

Protecting Your Business Investment

Whether you are investing in a business in the form of cash and/or time, you need to ensure your investment is protected. This is especially true when the business grows as you need to be certain of the impact this has on you in terms of share value and payment division.

Shareholders’ agreements are contracts that are agreed and signed between a company and all or some of its shareholders. It outlines how different scenarios are to be handled and resolved, saving a great deal of time, money and aggravation in the future.

With the potential to cover all aspects of the relationship between the shareholders, these agreements usually include procedures for the following situations:

• A shareholder leaves, how the relationship is terminated, how the assets are valued and shares divided
• A shareholder dies, how the assets are valued and shares divided
• Deadlock, how to avoid and how to resolve
• Business operations and how decisions are made – joint and group decisions versus individual ones
• An offer is made on the company, how to handle this scenario

It is vital to draw up shareholders’ agreements to protect your investment and the business and to do so as early as possible in the business lifecycle – the earlier the contracts are put in place, the easier they are to agree upon as often personal goals grow with the business, adding complications and increasing the likelihood of issues arising.

How Our Business Services Team Can Help You

At HLF Berry our commercial solicitors have prepared shareholders’ agreements for businesses of all sizes and understand that no two companies are the same. Our bespoke approach ensures your agreements include all relevant topics and areas of business to ensure you have the necessary protection in place with any future issues.

For an initial consultation with one of our expert commercial law solicitors, contact us today. Every aspect of your business and individual investment will be taken into account in any legal advice we offer and shareholders’ agreements we produce, so you can be certain your shares are protected now and in the future.