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Designed by Seahorse Services Home | About Us | Our People | Private Clients | Business Clients | Contact Us |
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Although we pride ourselves on offering as wide a range of services as possible,
T.F.Reid & Donaldson has for many years placed an emphasis on business
law of all sorts. Like you, we have to work hard to make a profit in an increasingly
competitive marketplace. We have to think about practical matters like rates,
our property, employment issues, rising costs and so on.
So when you come to us for advice, we can understand your concerns and share them. We enjoy our contacts with the local business community. We are used to working alongside them, helping them to overcome problems, joining in their discussions, often as much on a commercial basis as a legal one.
The issues that business people come to discuss with us are very wide
The list goes on - because so do the problems, and the opportunities - that face us in business.
When you are starting up, it's important to choose the vehicle that you use - sole trader, partnership, limited company. You should take careful advice before you decide on which is the vehicle for you: a change later may create tax problems. Trading as an individual gives great flexibility and sometimes tax advantages, but some people will prefer to sleep easy in their beds, knowing that because they are a limited company their liability is limited. The ultimate choice will depend to an extent on technical issues such as taxation but there is also a personal dimension, a question of knowing what you will be comfortable with. T.F.Reid & Donaldson can explore all of this with you and seek to find the formula that works best for you. top of page
If you decide to be a limited company, it's important that it is designed not only for your immediate intentions, but also for the sort of projects that may develop with you. T.F.Reid & Donaldson can help form a company, and frame a principal objects clause that will meet your requirements. We will work with your tax advisers to create the best vehicle from a fiscal point of view. top of page
Partnership Agreements are very important documents. And remember that there should be a document. If you and one or two others work together you may well be creating partnership in law without realizing it. The legal consequences of that might not be at all what you would want. So the answer is to have a proper partnership agreement, which will spell out precisely the entitlement of the different people involved in the business. Sometimes it's said that partnerships are like marriages except that it is easier to get out of a marriage! A properly drawn up partnership agreement can avoid much of the tension and difficulties that otherwise occur when people are working together in a joint enterprise. Do discuss this with us. top of page
Buying and selling property for business purposes is slightly different from buying and selling residential property. It's important, for instance, that the title deeds permit the use of the building for the purpose you have in mind. No less important is the planning classification. Other issues arise for specialized uses, such as licensed premises, hot food etc. top of page
Obtaining finance for the purchase of commercial property is also slightly different and T.F.Reid & Donaldson can help you best in this, as in many areas, if you come to us at an early point. The valuation of business property is quite specialized, and you should be careful not to commit yourself to a purchase or sale until you have received professional advice. The valuation of and obtaining finance for leased property is even more complicated and requires very specialised advice. top of page
For many people leasing commercial property is the preferred option. Here again, valuation is complex and all too often we find that clients have agreed to a figure that is unrealistic and that considerable money could have been saved if they had taken advice first. Most, but not all, commercial property is leased on what are called " full repairing and insuring leases". This means that the tenant occupies and trades from the premises and also accepts almost all the obligations that an owner would have, such as repairing the property when repair is needed, insuring it, meeting the cost of local authority notices and so forth. The documentation for such a lease is very complex, running frequently to 50 or more pages, and it is essential that it is adjusted to your advantage. The lease is prepared for a landlord's benefit will be very different from the lease which is prepared for a tenant, and there is considerable skill and experience required in negotiating the best deal for you. Beware of entering into this jungle without the help of someone who has considerable experience of the very technical legal issues involved. top of page
If your business is a success, and we shall work hard with you to ensure that it is, you may become involved in a merger/takeover. T.F.Reid & Donaldson have very considerable experience of the issues involved here. We liaise with your accountants to make sure that the transaction works to your advantage. Whether you are taking over or being taken over, it's crucial that you don't become liable for someone else's employee problems or tax bill, that contracts continue with the person they are meant to continue with, and not the other way around and so forth. While the broad elements of a deal can usually be thrashed out fairly quickly, a very great deal of work has to be done to give effect to what is intended. A purchaser will want, for instance, to have what is called "due diligence" done to ensure that the business they are taking over is not full of nasty surprises that will fall out of cupboards once they are in charge. Sellers, on the other hand, will want to be certain that when they walk away from their business they can be certain that they are not going to be faced in a year or two with a claim for something that the business did some years ago. As in so many other areas, we can give most help here if you come to us at an early point and involve us in your plans. top of page
Employment law is an area that is changing all the time. The potential downside involved in getting things wrong is alarming. An award for unfair dismissal, for instance, can now run to £50,000. In addition to unfair dismissal and redundancy questions, there are pitfalls to be avoided in areas covered by anti-discrimination legislation. If you're faced by problems in any of these connections, T.F.Reid & Donaldson' Business Law or Litigation Departments can help, but these are problems that are much better prevented than cured: we can work with you to put into place systems that minimize your chances of getting into trouble in the first place. top of page