In an owner-managed business, the ultimate owners also handle the day-to-day commercial operations. These businesses often have several advantages, including strong personal connections and a committed workforce. However, they also face unique challenges, such as thorny succession issues and relationship fallouts.
At Ashton’s Legal, we work with owner-managed businesses of all sizes and deeply understand their legal requirements. Our pragmatic, commercially focused legal advice enables you to easily overcome challenges and take your business to the next level.
Our team of owner-managed business solicitors is consistently ranked among the leading lawyers in the UK in law directories, including Chambers & Partners, which notes that we ‘handle high–value work with the dexterity of the main players in central London’.
Our Ipswich Owner-Managed Business solicitors can help you with:
- Business acquisition or sale
- Business restructuring and reorganisation
- Ownership governance issues and governance documents
- Succession and estate planning, including wills and wealth preservation
- Protecting your business if your relationship breaks down, 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
As a multi-disciplinary firm, we can provide all the legal support your owner-managed business needs, including corporate, commercial property, and employment.
Book a consultation with our Owner-Managed Business solicitors in Ipswich
Our owner-managed business solicitors advise clients in all key sectors, including manufacturing and engineering, technology, and real estate. To find out more about how we can help you realise your commercial goals, please contact our Ipswich office or you can use our online enquiry form to request a call back.
How we can help with Owner-Managed Business services in Ipswich
Business acquisition and sales
Our specialist owner-managed business solicitors can provide expert advice regarding the acquisition or sale of a company.
Our acquisitions and disposals lawyers team will work alongside our colleagues from departments such as employment, commercial property, and regulatory disputes to proactively support you in this process.
Ways that we can offer guidance in this field include:
- 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 swiftly respond to market changes and take advantage of new opportunities. Business restructuring and reorganisation can offer several key benefits, including improved tax management, increased efficiency, and lower operating costs. We can help you assess whether restructuring suits your circumstances and identify the restructuring most likely to achieve your aims.
Our owner-managed business solicitors can assist with all aspects of restructuring and reorganisation, including:
- Capital reduction
- Refinancing
- Mergers and demergers
- Restructuring strategy
Read more about how we can help you with business restructuring here.
Ownership governance issues and governance documents
Effective governance is crucial to your business’s success. When you run your commercial operations according to precise procedures, you can encourage effective communication between key stakeholders, mitigate risk, and help your owner-managed company fulfil its potential.
We regularly help owner-managed businesses design and implement effective governance processes that reflect their commercial reality. We can advise on all types of governance matters, including:
- Creating bespoke governance processes
- Drawing up governance policies
- Preparing governance documentation
Read more about how we can help your owner-operated business with governance issues here.
Succession and estate planning, including wills and wealth preservation
Succession planning involves transitioning a business to the next generation. It can be one of the biggest challenges owner-managed businesses face. However, with our expert support, you can be confident that the long-term future of the business you worked so hard to build and your financial stability is secure.
Our owner-operated business solicitors in Ipswich offer a comprehensive succession planning service, including:
- Wills and other estate planning matters, such as powers of attorney
- Selling your business
- Wealth management
- Tax advice
Read more about how we can help you with Succession and estate planning here and wills and wealth preservation here.
Protecting business from relationship breakdown, including pre-nuptial and post-nuptial arrangements
Owner-managed business owners are often relieved to hear there are measures they can implement to protect their business in the event of a relationship breakdown. For example, pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements can help ensure a business remains separate from a couple’s joint assets if they separate.
Our owner-managed business solicitors will act tactfully and sensitively when taking steps to protect your business. We will ensure you fully understand the reasoning behind our suggested arrangements and their impact.
Read more about how we can help you protect your business, including pre-nuptial and post-nuptial arrangements, here.
Shareholder/partner relations and commercial disputes
Whether internal or external, commercial disputes can have a catastrophic impact on your owner-managed business. We understand the need for dispute resolution to be as swift and amicable as possible to preserve important relationships and minimise your financial exposure.
Our owner-managed business solicitors in Ipswich can assist with all types of disputes and provide straightforward advice on all relevant issues, including:
- The merits of your position
- Settlement
- Alternative dispute resolution methods, such as mediation
- Court proceedings
Find out more about how we can help you with commercial disputes here.
Trust creation and administration
Under a trust, the trustee holds specific assets for the benefit of the beneficiary. You might consider creating a trust for various reasons, including asset preservation and succession planning.
Trusts can be beneficial for owner-managed business owners but are highly complicated. We can help you decide whether a trust is appropriate to achieve your aims. If you choose to proceed, we can create the trust and help you administer it.
Our owner-managed business solicitors in Ipswich can advise on all issues relating to the creation and administration of trusts, including:
- The appropriate type of trust
- Setting up a trust
- Administering a trust
- Ending a trust
Read more about how we can help you create and administer a trust here.
Commercial contracts
Contracts are the backbone of your owner-managed business, governing your dealings with everyone from suppliers to investors. Poorly drafted contracts can cause confusion over their meaning and effects, leading to hard-fought, expensive disputes, so it’s essential to get them right.
Our owner-managed business solicitors in Ipswich have extensive experience in contract drafting and dispute resolution. We will negotiate and prepare your contractual documentation and represent you in the event of a dispute.
We specialise in all commercial contract matters, including:
- Consumer contracts
- Supply contracts
- Licensing agreements
- Joint venture agreements
- Dispute resolution
Read more about commercial contracts expertise here.
Property ownership and planning issues
Commercial property issues can be complex and full of traps for the unwary. Our owner-managed business solicitors will help you understand the details of your property purchase or lease. We will explain your rights and obligations, ensure you appreciate the risks, and advise on any steps you can take to mitigate them.
Our owner-managed business solicitors in Ipswich have expertise in all contentious and non-contentious commercial property issues, including:
- Sale and purchase of freehold and leasehold property
- Landlord and tenant matters
- Portfolio management
- Planning
- Property dispute resolution
Read more about how we can help you with property ownership and planning issues here.
Employment Issues and HR Consulting
HR and employment law issues can be time-consuming and complex to navigate. At Ashton’s, we offer a comprehensive HR consultancy service whereby our HR specialists take on the role of a dedicated HR department for a fraction of the cost.
If you require advice on legal matters, such as unfair dismissal claims, we have a team of expert employment lawyers who can provide pragmatic advice tailored to your commercial needs.
Our owner-managed business solicitors in Ipswich provide the complete range of HR and employment law advice, including:
- Developing legally compliant HR policies and contractual documentation
- Conducting disciplinary procedures
- Assisting with redundancy procedures
- Representing you in the Employment Tribunal and Court
Read more about our employment expertise here and our HR consultancy services here.
Regulatory, licensing, health & safety and criminal defence
Ever-evolving regulations in areas such as data protection and health and safety can place substantial strain on owner-managed businesses. We can relieve the burden by ensuring your commercial operations comply with your legal obligations and suggesting any necessary changes. We are experienced in representing clients in breach of their obligations and have a proven track record of negotiating the most lenient penalties available on their behalf.
Our owner-managed business solicitors in Ipswich advise clients on all regulatory law matters, including:
- Health and Safety
- Trading Standards
- Planning
- Alcohol
- Criminal prosecutions
Read more about our experience in regulatory law here.
Business recovery, insolvency, and debt collection
Unpaid invoices can severely impact an owner-managed business’s cash flow. We will chase unpaid debts on your behalf, taking all appropriate measures to recover your money.
If your owner-managed business is facing insolvency, swift, decisive action is crucial. Our team of owner-managed business solicitors includes insolvency specialists, corporate lawyers, and dispute resolution experts, whose combined expertise will give your business the best chance of avoiding insolvency.
If insolvency is inevitable, our specialist lawyers will guide you through the relevant procedures and address any issues and disputes.
Our owner-managed business solicitors in Ipswich advise clients on all business recovery, insolvency, and debt collection matters, including:
- Restructuring
- Administrations and liquidations
- Directors’ liability
- Personal bankruptcy
- Debt collection methods
Read more about our business recovery and insolvency expertise here and debt collection services here.
Debt funding and refinancing
A healthy level of properly managed debt can help your owner-managed business expand and increase your market share. Refinancing can facilitate effective debt management by lowering monthly repayments.
We can assist you in obtaining favourable debt funding and provide advice on your refinancing options where necessary.
Read more about how we can help you with debt funding and refinancing here.
Why choose our owner-managed business solicitors in Ipswich?
We understand that owner-managed businesses need pragmatic, dynamic legal support to reach their full potential. We provide top-class advice tailored to your commercial reality and the nature of your business. We cover a wide range of practice areas and represent clients across all key sectors, so you can be confident that we have all your legal requirements covered.
As a firm, we are regularly listed in the leading directories of recommended legal providers, including the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners.
The Legal 500 notes our ‘leading reputation in terms of experience and expertise’, ‘quick and intelligent advice’, and states that we are ‘undoubtedly one of the leaders in the region.’
Chambers and Partners recognise us as a ‘strong firm’ that is ‘able to deal with things very quickly’ and ‘commit resources at short notice’.
Our owner-managed business solicitors’ fees
Our owner-managed business solicitors are committed to providing exceptional legal support at affordable prices. Client care is at the heart of everything we do, which extends to our billing practices. We will ensure you understand how we charge before we start work on your matter and provide regular fee quotes and breakdowns.
To learn more about our billing practices, please visit our pricing pages.
Contact our owner-managed business solicitors in Ipswich
Our owner-managed business solicitors are on hand to help your business go from strength to strength. To learn more about our services, please call our office in Ipswich or complete the contact form on the right-hand side of this page, and a team member will be in touch.