Families who run businesses together enjoy many distinct benefits, including a unified vision, high trust levels, and a shared commitment to the business’s long-term success. However, family businesses also face unique challenges, such as succession planning, internal conflict, and a lack of structure. To overcome these challenges and move your business forward, you need solicitors who understand the nuances of family businesses.
At Ashton’s Legal, we work with family businesses of all types and sizes. We cover every area of law relevant to family businesses, such as employment, corporate, and property. We have exceptional know-how across a range of sectors, including manufacturing, engineering, and agriculture. With our expert family business advice, you can address issues swiftly and go from strength to strength.
Our team of family business solicitors regularly features in the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners law directories, which list the UK’s top legal professionals. We are mentioned as ‘one of the leaders in the region’ and commended for ‘punching well above [our] weight. Capable of matching if not besting the big London firms’.
Our Norwich family 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 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
Book a consultation with our family business solicitors in Norwich
For assistance with family business matters, please contact our expert family business solicitors by calling our Norwich office or using our contact form.
How we can help with family business services in Norwich
Business acquisitions and sales
Buying or selling a business as a family can become complex quite quickly, so our expert family business solicitors are here to support you as you make your unified decision.
Each business transaction is different, so we take a comprehensive and interdepartmental approach to supporting you. Colleagues from the regulatory and disputes team, the employment team, and the commercial team will all be in your corner as you make your deal.
Our assistance will be available to you in many ways, including, but not limited to:
- Conducting buyer due diligence
- Support with corporate financing
- Support to make the necessary tax considerations
- Assistance with employment matters and considerations
- Guidance on licensing and regulatory compliance matters
To find out more about how we can help you with business acquisitions and sales, click here.
Business restructuring and reorganisation
Restructuring involves changing a business’s structure in order to streamline operations, improve productivity, and boost profits. Family businesses may consider restructuring in response to changing market conditions or following the death of a key family member.
Our family business solicitors regularly help clients achieve their commercial objectives through restructuring. We will advise on the suitable restructuring in your circumstances and guide you through the procedure.
Our family business solicitors in Norwich can assist you with all restructuring and reorganisation matters, including:
- Restructuring strategy
- Mergers and demergers
- Joint ventures
- Refinancing
- Capital reduction
To read more about how we can help you with business restructuring and reorganisation, click here.
Ownership governance issues and governance documents
Governance is the term used to describe the rules and procedures by which your business is run. Proper governance can enhance your commercial success by encouraging effective management, harmonising decision-making, and promoting confidence among your workforce and investors.
Our family business solicitors in Norwich devise governance policies and procedures for family businesses of all types and sizes. We routinely support clients with all matters relating to governance matters, including:
- Devising processes
- Drafting policies
- Preparing governance documentation, including articles of association for your family owned company
To read more about how we can help you with governance issues, please click here.
Succession and estate planning, including Wills and wealth preservation
Succession planning is the process of passing ownership of the business to the next generation. An effective succession plan is crucial to the long-term future of your family business.
Devising and executing a succession plan can be one of a family business’s greatest challenges. Succession can be a thorny issue, so many business owners avoid addressing it. However, the key to succession planning is starting early. By involving family business lawyers like ours well in advance of stepping down, you will have time to furnish the new owners with the skills they need to move the business forward and ensure a smooth transition.
Our family business solicitors in Norwich can assist with all succession planning issues, including:
- Wills and estate planning, including powers of attorney
- Business sales
- Wealth management
- Tax advice
To read 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
By their very nature, family businesses are often owned by married couples or civil partners. Whilst the nature of these relationships can contribute greatly to the business’s success, it can also put it at significant risk if the couple separates. Pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements offer family business owners a convenient means to document what should happen to the business if their relationship breaks down, thereby providing peace of mind for all involved.
Our family business solicitors include family law experts with extensive experience advising clients on how best to safeguard their business’s future against the fallout from the breakdown of key relationships.
To read more about how we can help you to protect your family business from relationship breakdowns, including pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements, please click here.
Shareholder/partner relations and commercial disputes
Family businesses often involve complex relationships between their owners, which can sometimes lead to disharmony and conflict. Succession issues, ill-defined rights and responsibilities, and a lack of forward planning are common culprits for family business disputes. Conflicts within a family business must be handled with sensitivity and tact to avoid them escalating and jeopardising the business’s future.
Our family business solicitors always seek to avoid litigation if possible. Instead, we seek commercial resolutions that preserve essential relationships and allow the key individuals to work together for the benefit of the business.
Our family business solicitors in Norwich can advise you at every stage of a dispute, including:
- Assessing the parties’ positions
- Negotiating a settlement
- Employing alternative dispute resolution methods
- Representing you in Court
To read more about how we can help your family business with shareholder/partner relations and commercial disputes, please click here.
Trust creation and administration
Under a trust, specified individuals, known as trustees, hold and manage trust assets for the benefit of other individuals, known as beneficiaries. Trusts can be extremely useful to family businesses, particularly in the context of succession planning.
Trusts law is notoriously complex, even for legal professionals. Our team comprises individuals specialising in this complicated area, so you can be confident that the trust your family business lawyer creates will achieve your objectives.
Our family business solicitors in Norwich can assist you in all issues of trusts law, including:
- Deciding on the appropriate type of trust
- Setting up a trust
- Administering a trust
- Ending a trust
To read more about how we can help you with creating and administering a trust, please click here.
Commercial contracts
Like all enterprises, family businesses require comprehensive, clear contractual documentation to ensure that their relationships with key third parties, such as suppliers and investors, will function effectively. If your contracts are unclear, hard-fought disputes can arise over their meaning and effects.
Our family business solicitors in Norwich have extensive experience in contract drafting and dispute resolution. We can fulfil all your commercial contract requirements, including:
- Supply contracts
- Consumer contracts
- Licensing agreements
- Joint ventures
- Dispute resolution
To read more about how we can help you with commercial contracts, please click here.
Property ownership and planning issues
Commercial property issues can be complex. If your family business is considering investing in commercial premises, it’s essential that you are aware of the risks and manage them effectively.
Our team of family business solicitors include specialist commercial property lawyers with vast experience in all property ownership and planning issues. We have longstanding relationships with a range of other property professionals, including architects, local planning authorities, tax advisors and accountants, with whom we work to achieve seamless transactions.
Our family business solicitors in Norwich can assist you with all contentious and non-contentious property issues, including:
- Buying and selling commercial freehold and leasehold property
- Landlord and tenant issues
- Property portfolio management
- Planning matters
- Commercial property dispute resolution
To read more about how we can help you with property transactions and planning issues, please click here.
Employment issues and HR Consulting
If your family business does not have a dedicated HR department, our specialists can fill the gap by 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 advise on all specialist employment law issues, including Tribunal and Court proceedings.
Our family business solicitors in Norwich 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 read more about how we can help you with employment law issues, please click here. For information on our HR consultancy services, please click here.
Regulatory, licensing, health & safety and criminal defence
If your family business operates in a regulated sector, ensuring you understand your legal obligations is vital. Non-compliance can lead to unlimited fines and even criminal prosecutions.
Our family business lawyers regularly assist clients in understanding which areas of their commercial operations are regulated and how to ensure compliance. If you’re under investigation for alleged breaches of your regulatory responsibilities, our vast experience with all key regulators means you have the best chance of defending the issue and avoiding prosecution.
Our family business lawyers in Norwich advise clients on all aspects of regulatory compliance and investigations, including:
- Health and Safety
- Trading Standards
- Planning
- Alcohol
- Business crime
To read more about how we can help you with regulatory issues, please click here.
Business recovery, insolvency, and debt collection
Unpaid invoices can have a catastrophic impact on your family business’s cash flow. Chasing payments can also be frustrating and time-consuming and divert crucial resources from your commercial operations. We offer a comprehensive, cost-efficient debt-collection service, allowing you to concentrate on what you do best – running your business.
If your family business is facing insolvency, then you need firm, decisive legal advice to help you get back on track. Our insolvency law experts work alongside our specialists in other fields, including corporate restructuring and dispute resolution, to devise strategies that give your business the best chance of returning to profitability.
If insolvency is unavoidable, your family business lawyer will guide you through the procedure, protecting the interests of your business and family at every stage.
Our family business solicitors in Norwich have expertise in all matters relating to business recovery, insolvency, and debt collection, including:
- Restructuring options
- Liquidations
- Administrations
- Negotiations with creditors
- Defending proceedings against directors
- Debt recovery
To read more about our business recovery and insolvency services, please click here. For information on our debt collection services, please click here.
Debt funding and refinancing
Debt funding can give your family business a cash injection to meet consumer demand and realise your expansion plans. However, you must manage your debt efficiently. Refinancing lets you consolidate your outgoings, take advantage of lower interest rates, and free up capital.
Our family business lawyers regularly advise clients on obtaining debt funding and refinancing. We will explain the available options and advise on the one that is most suitable for your circumstances. We will ensure you understand the changes and their potential impact, providing pragmatic advice throughout the transaction.
To read more about how we can help you with debt funding and refinancing, please click here.
Why choose our family business solicitors in Norwich?
Our family business solicitors offer:
- Decades of experience in assisting family businesses achieve their full potential. Clients note how well we understand their ‘business activities, the industry [they] operate in, and [their] company structure’.
- A team of recognised legal experts in all areas of law relevant to family businesses. We are commended by the Legal 500 as having ‘a leading reputation in terms of experience and expertise, and a national and international practice’.
- Commercially focused advice. A testimonial given by a client to the Legal 500 about our team states that ‘through quick and intelligent advice they have allowed us to move and scale faster than our contemporaries’.
- Exceptional service. The Legal 500 notes we have ‘the edge’ in client care.
Our family business solicitors’ fees
Our family business lawyers are committed to providing a first-class legal service at affordable rates. We will always choose the most cost-effective action to achieve your objectives, and we will keep you updated on costs throughout your matter with regular quotes and breakdowns.
You can read more about our pricing here.
Contact our family business solicitors in Norwich
To find out more about how our family business lawyers can help you, please call our office in Norwich, or complete our contact form, and we will be in touch.