Owner-managed businesses possess several qualities that contribute to their success, including a workforce heavily invested in its long-term future. However, with these benefits come some unique challenges, including succession issues and the need to manage personal relationships. To successfully navigate these matters, you require commercial, pragmatic legal advice from solicitors well-versed in the nuances of owner-managed businesses.
At Ashton’s Legal, we have a deep understanding of the diverse issues faced by owner-managed businesses. We offer straightforward, practical advice that enables you to tackle issues swiftly and move your business forward.
Our team of owner-managed business solicitors comprises experts in all law areas relevant to owner-managed businesses. We regularly feature in the leading law directories, the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, which rank the UK’s top legal professionals.
Chambers & Partners notes that we ‘handle high-value work with the dexterity of the main players in central London’, and the Legal 500 commends us for ‘punching well above [our] weight. Capable of matching, if not besting, the big London firms’.
Our Cambridge Owner-Managed Business solicitors can help you with:
- Business acquisition or sales
- Business restructuring and reorganisation
- Ownership governance issues and governance documents
- Succession and estate planning, including wills and wealth preservation
- Protecting business from relationship breakdown, including pre-nuptial and post-nuptial arrangements
- Shareholder/partner relations and commercial disputes
- Trust creation and administration
- Commercial contracts
- Property ownership and planning issues
- Employment Issues and HR Consulting
- Regulatory, licensing, health & safety and criminal defence
- Business recovery, insolvency and debt collection
- Debt funding and refinancing
Our multi-disciplinary practice encompasses many practice areas, including employment, property and corporate. This permits us to provide owner-managed businesses with comprehensive support.
Book a consultation with our Owner-Managed Business solicitors in Cambridge
Our owner-managed business solicitors are committed to providing first-class legal services at an affordable cost. Our work spans various sectors, including tech, real estate, and engineering.
To find out more, please contact our Cambridge office or you can use our online enquiry form to request a call back.
How we can help with Owner-Managed Business services in Cambridge
Business acquisitions and sales
If you are in the process of acquiring or selling a company, our expert owner-managed business solicitors will provide tailored guidance throughout.
Our specialist acquisitions and disposals lawyers will work alongside colleagues from departments such as employment, commercial property and regulatory and disputes to support you in this process.
We can offer guidance in areas such as:
- Carrying out buyer due diligence
- Assistance with corporate financing
- Help to make the necessary tax considerations
- Support with employment matters
- Advice on licensing and regulatory compliance areas
To find out more about how we can help you with business acquisitions and sales, click here.
Business restructuring and reorganisation
Owner-managed businesses must respond quickly to ever-changing market conditions. In the right circumstances, restructuring can offer an invaluable means through which you can streamline commercial operations, improve tax efficiency, and ultimately increase profits.
There are several different types of business restructuring, and the appropriate one depends on your goals. Our owner-managed business solicitors regularly assist clients in restructuring their businesses to achieve their full potential. We will identify the appropriate restructuring for your business and implement a strategy that successfully achieves your aims.
Our owner-managed business solicitors can assist you with all matters relating to restructuring and reorganisation, including:
- Restructuring strategy
- Mergers and demergers
- Joint ventures
- Refinancing
- Capital reduction
To learn more about how we can help you with business restructuring and reorganisation, click here.
Ownership governance issues and governance documents
Governance is the practices, rules, and procedures by which you run your business. Effective governance is crucial to your commercial success. It facilitates efficient management, unifies decision-making, and promotes confidence among investors.
We support owner-managed businesses of all sizes in implementing appropriate governance policies. We can advise on all types of governance matters, including:
- Developing effective processes.
- Drafting and implementing policies.
- Preparing associated documentation, including articles of association for your owner-managed company.
To learn more about how we can help you with governance issues, please click here.
Succession and estate planning, including wills and wealth preservation
Succession planning involves devising a strategy for handing your owner-managed business over to your successors when you are ready to stand down. To ensure the continued success of your business and safeguard your financial stability, you must put an effective succession plan in place long before the event.
Effective succession planning necessitates an appreciation of several complex legal disciplines, including wills, tax, and corporate. Our specialisms cover all relevant areas, and our solicitors will work together to devise a watertight succession plan that accurately mirrors your intentions.
Our owner-managed business solicitors in Cambridge can assist with all succession planning issues, including:
- Wills and estate planning, including powers of attorney
- Business sales
- Wealth management
- Tax advice
To learn more about how we can help you with succession and estate planning, please click here. For information on wills and wealth preservation, please click here.
Protecting business from relationship breakdown, including pre-nuptial and post-nuptial arrangements
When you have spent time and money building a successful business, you understandably want to protect your investment if your relationship ends. If you are married or in a civil partnership, pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements offer a convenient way to keep your business separate from the assets you hold jointly with your partner.
To learn more about how we can help you with protecting your business from relationship breakdown, including pre-nuptial and post-nuptial arrangements, please click here.
Shareholder/partner relations and commercial disputes
Disputes of any kind can severely harm an owner-operated business. They must be carefully handled to achieve a swift resolution, maintain important relationships, and avoid diverting valuable resources from commercial operations.
Our owner-managed business solicitors always seek to settle commercial disputes without litigation. We are skilled negotiators and regularly achieve excellent client settlements without the Court’s involvement.
Our owner-managed business solicitors in Cambridge can support you at every stage of a dispute, including:
- Assessing your position
- Negotiating a settlement
- Pursuing alternative dispute resolution methods
- Representing you in Court proceedings
To learn more about how we can help you with shareholder/partner relations and commercial disputes, please click here.
Trust creation and administration
A trust is a legal arrangement in which the trustee holds and manages assets on behalf of the beneficiary. Trusts offer an invaluable means of achieving crucial objectives, such as wealth preservation.
Trusts are highly complicated, so working with solicitors experienced in trust law like us is essential when creating one. We will advise on the appropriate structure, build the trust, and administer it on your behalf.
Our owner-managed business solicitors in Cambridge can advise on all issues of trusts law, including:
- The different types of trusts
- Setting up a trust
- Administering a trust
- Ending a trust
To learn more about how we can help you with creating and administering a trust, please click here.
Commercial contracts
Contracts are essential to your owner-operated business. They control how you interact with third parties, including suppliers, investors, and consumers. Your commercial contracts must be carefully drafted to ensure everyone understands their rights and responsibilities and avoid disputes over their meaning.
Our owner-managed business solicitors in Cambridge can assist with all commercial contract matters, including:
- Supply contracts
- Consumer contracts
- Licensing agreements
- Joint ventures
- Dispute resolution
To learn more about how we can help you with commercial contracts, please click here.
Property ownership and planning issues
Commercial property issues can be complex and difficult to navigate. Our team of owner-managed business solicitors includes specialist commercial property lawyers with vast experience in all property ownership and planning issues.
We will ensure you understand the intricacies of your proposed property transaction, including your legal obligations. We will assist you in mitigating risk and ensure your interests are fully protected.
Our owner-managed business solicitors in Cambridge can assist you with all contentious and non-contentious property issues, including:
- Buying and selling freehold and leasehold property
- Landlord and tenant matters
- Property portfolio management
- Planning issues
- Commercial property dispute resolution
To learn more about how we can help you with property ownership and planning issues, please click here.
Employment Issues and HR Consulting
If your owner-managed business does not have a dedicated HR department, our specialists can step in to fill the role, providing bespoke HR services that align with your business’s ethos. We also have a team of expert employment solicitors who are on hand to give advice on all employment law issues, including Tribunal and Court proceedings.
Our owner-managed business solicitors in Cambridge can assist you with all HR and employment law matters, including:
- Producing employment policies and contracts
- Succession planning
- Disciplinary procedures
- Redundancy and restructuring
- Tribunal and Court proceedings
To learn more about how we can help you with employment issues, please click here. For information on our HR consultancy services, please click here.
Regulatory, licensing, health & safety and criminal defence
Ensuring compliance with your regulatory requirements can be time-consuming and expensive. However, it should be high on your priority list since business owners who don’t comply may face fines or even criminal prosecutions.
Our owner-managed business solicitors can relieve the burden of regulatory compliance by guiding you through the requirements and ensuring you adhere to them. If you are under investigation, we will support you throughout the process, striving to limit damage to your organisation and secure the best possible outcome.
Our owner-managed business solicitors in Cambridge advise clients on all aspects of regulatory compliance and investigations, including:
- Health and Safety
- Trading Standards
- Planning
- Alcohol
- Business crime
To learn more about how we can help you with regulatory issues, please click here.
Business recovery, insolvency, and debt collection
Unpaid invoices can have a disastrous impact on your cash flow. Our owner-managed business solicitors offer a comprehensive debt-recovery service that secures payment as quickly and cost-efficiently as possible.
If your business is facing insolvency, our owner-managed business solicitors’ prompt, decisive advice will give you the best chance of survival. We will devise a strategy that allows you breathing space to deal with the issues and get back on track.
If insolvency is unavoidable, we will support you through the process, dealing with creditors on your behalf and resolving any disputes that arise.
Our owner-managed business solicitors in Cambridge have expertise in all matters relating to business recovery, insolvency, and debt collection, including:
- Restructuring options.
- Liquidations and administrations.
- Director and shareholder advice
- Personal bankruptcy
- Debt recovery.
To learn more about how we can help you with business recovery and insolvency, please click here. For information on our debt recovery services, please click here.
Debt funding and refinancing
In the right circumstances, taking on debt can be a sensible move. It can give you access to the funds required to expand your business and assist you in meeting customer demand. However, keeping on top of your debt is important, which sometimes necessitates considering refinancing options. Our owner-managed business solicitors can help you secure debt funding and advise you on the potential benefits of financing.
Find out more about how we can help you with debt funding and refinancing here.
Why choose our owner-managed business solicitors in Cambridge?
Our practice encompasses all the areas of law owner-managed businesses need, and our solicitors work closely together to ensure our clients receive comprehensive, cohesive legal support. We are recognised by the Legal 500 for our ‘leading reputation in terms of experience and expertise’, and for having ‘the edge in client care’.
Our owner-managed business solicitors’ fees
Our firm policy is to provide exceptional legal advice that is also cost-effective. At the outset of your matter, we will explain how we will charge for our work and keep you updated with frequent fee quotes and breakdowns.
For more information, you can visit our pricing pages.
Contact our owner-managed business solicitors in Cambridge
To find out more about how our owner-managed business solicitors can help you achieve your commercial goals, please call our office in Cambridge, or complete our contact form on the right-hand side of the page.