Elliot Mather is please to support:

Company & Commercial

Our services

Partnership and company formations
Commercial contracts
Corporate restructures and re-organisations
Buying or selling a business or shares

For further information contact:

Chesterfield (01246 231 288)
Paul Hollyer

Mansfield (01623 655 666)
Andrew Johnston

Partnership and company formations

Many businesses fail to take the time to discuss the long term future of the business at an early stage. Often the parties only vaguely agree the major terms and fail to identify other important issues, because they are looking to keep their costs down.

Unfortunately for some this proves to be a false economy, which costs much more when disagreements about business roles and responsibilities bubble over to the detriment of the new business venture. Company leadership, ownership or liability, if not clear from the outset, can be the cause of friction and ultimately failure, if not properly resolved.

How we can help

We can help by discussing the various options available, recommending partnership, limited liability partnership or limited company status as the circumstances dictate. Elliot Mather has an expertise in advising businesses nationally and locally on how to start out on the right footing, with a good sense of direction. Developing an understanding of your business objectives and ambitions, we will help in exactly the way you need, from drafting agreements that keep everybody happy to taking care of formation and transfer processes.

Our services for new and changing business ventures include:

advice and guidance on your company formation options
the drafting of agreements between parties involved
the administration of the incorporation process, including the transfer of an existing unincorporated business to the newly formed company

Commercial contracts

Every business is different. Yet all too often, the contracts that govern the relationship between the business and its customers and suppliers are obtained standard-form, so that they have no specific relevance to the transactions being conducted, or to the nature of that business sector and the way it works.

Unfortunately, the only way many businesses identify a gap in their contracts or a loophole in the protection their contracts afford them is when they become involved in a commercial dispute.

How we can help

Elliot Mather can provide an invaluable service in drafting contracts designed to meet your very specific business needs. We understand the practicalities of commercial transactions and work quickly to get to know the way you operate as a business and the context of your transactions, so that our solutions are perfectly tailored to your needs. Our expertise includes the drafting and negotiating of contracts relating to:

Agency and distribution agreements
Assets acquisition, leasing and financing
Joint venture agreements
Service contracts and consultancy / management agreements
Terms and conditions of business (for sales purchases and hire)
Confidentiality agreements
Option agreements
E-commerce agreements

Corporate restructures and re-organisations

These days it is rare for shareholders or directors to plan realistically for more than a couple of years ahead. Business moves so quickly, and the commercial landscape constantly shifts. Being ready to respond to change and embrace new opportunities requires a flexibility that traditional business planning does not allow.

Of course, responding to opportunities and challenges can mean significant changes to the shape of your business or the interests of the shareholders. As the needs of your business alter and develop, you will need legal assistance to ensure that your changes are compliant with the law and your various legal obligations, and effective and beneficial to your business.

How we can help

This is where Elliot Mather can draw on significant experience to help. Liaising with the company accountants, we will advise you on the reorganising of the company share or loan structure, and all the associated concerns and requirements. Our work is focused on allowing you to be as opportunistic as possible, and we work to ensure compliance and good, pragmatic business sense in what must remain a flexible approach.

Our work in corporate restructure and re-organisation helps businesses nationwide, large and small, with:

Reorganising your company share or loan structure
The purchase of the company’s own shares, where appropriate
Company administration responsibilities, including formation, meetings and constitution
Capital maintenance, including capital, shareholder rights, share issues, transfers and dividends

Buying or Selling a business or shares

When you buy or sell a business, you are trading in much more than the physical assets and the future financial forecasts. A business must preserve the value of its reputation, history, and capabilities as it changes hands. This is true whether you buy the assets and start a new business with them, or buy shares and continue the existing business

Whether you are dealing with the transfer of a business or shares in a company, you will appreciate the necessity of carefully managing the transfer of staff and the nurturing of existing business relationships, as well as the practical and legal adjustments.

These transactions often take place for considerable amount of money with tight deadlines. In particular, although transferring shares is simple, the background involves many complex issues, for example the authorisation of financial assistance for the acquisition of a company’s own shares, assumption of existing debts or loans, vendor warranties and warranty protection and the requirement for post-completion accounts.

Appointing legal experts fully able to handle the process proactively, going beyond a legal remit to advise and support you is essential in making that transaction a smooth one.

Elliot Mather has vast experience in this field, approaching every transaction with the same ambition and focus our clients have whether they are a buyer, seller or funder. This experience sees us working for clients large and small across the country. We have nurtured a highly specialised technical understanding of commercial transactions and risk assessment, and we excel in delivering that practical insight through a personable, honest service.