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Corporate and commercial services

Our specialist skills and experience can path the way to helping you start a business, obtain finance agreements, draw up and agree contracts, buy and sell a business or put shareholder and partnership agreements in place. At the opposite end of the scale we can supply debt recovery service.

We will always attempt to recover debts without the need for Court proceedings. If this does not prove possible then we will advise on the options available to you in an attempt to recover the money as soon as possible and try to ensure that your legal costs are also recovered.

Employment services to the Employer

A surprisingly large number of cases we deal with involve employers getting into difficulty with Employment Tribunal cases because they have not had in place or have failed to operate simple procedures. Tribunals are expensive whatever the outcome. They take managers and employers out of the work place to attend hearings. Many small to medium sized businesses do not have the resources to deal with the frequent changes in law and the challenges of employing people. We are in a position to assist business of all sizes to review their systems, policies and procedures. With our help you can design proper and up to date employment contracts tailored to your employment needs. We can advise you how to go about handling many employment matters including such issues as employees not being up to the job, long term and other sickness absences, grievances raised by employees or deal with someone's bad conduct.

Buying and selling businesses

Businesses evolve and change all the time, while new opportunities arise for diversifying, changing or even selling the type of business you are involved in. Irrespective of whether you wish to buy or sell a business, our team of specialists can guide you through the stages and requirements to provide smooth passage; ensuring no surprises or liabilities emerge in the future.

Contracts

If your business is to be fully protected in the event of a dispute it is essential that you get professionally drafted contracts, or standard terms of business, drawn up. Written contracts enable you to have an exact record of what you will provide as a service or goods for customers. It should also encompass related matters, such as the method and timing of payments due.

We can draft contracts and terms of business to ensure your business is protected at outset.

Shareholder and partnership agreements

If your business is to operate as a limited company you must have a director and you may also appoint a company secretary. The director and/or company secretary is responsible for ensuring that all legal obligations are met and in many cases, the individual concerned has to rely heavily on the expertise of others to provide guidance on their duties and responsibilities.

Our team can help you to set up your limited company, appoint the directors and obtain the Certificate of Incorporation for a Private Limited Company and Memorandum and Articles of Association required to commence trading. We can also provide a critical reference point for guidance on the duties and responsibilities of Directors and Officers of the company. 

If your business is a partnership you should ensure a formal Partnership Deed is drawn up to reflect the terms agreed between yourself and the other partners. It is important to remember that if a deed is not in place, the partnership may need to be dissolved in the event of a dispute; you may also face difficulties and potential court action to get rid of a disruptive partner.

There are various issues to consider at outset, for example: who the partners are, the division of shares and how profits(and losses) are shared. Advice from our team of specialists during this stage is vital and the Partnership Deed should also be reviewed periodically, to take account of any changes within the partnership, e.g. the inclusion of new partners.

Debt recovery services

We can help your business maintain cash flow by providing debt recovery services and pursuing debtors on your behalf. From recovering a single debt to dealing with all your debt recovery work we aim to recover unpaid debts quickly and cost-effectively, but always with a view to protecting the business relationship between clients and their debtors.

Email: nevil.croston@bryanandarmstrong.co.uk