Corporate Lawyers & Corporate Law Specialists

At Lupton Fawcett, our corporate solicitors aim to provide the best possible service by working hard to understand your business so we can help you achieve your goals. We understand that issues can arise at any moment, so that’s why we are committed to being available whenever you and your business might need us.

To speak to one of our corporate solicitors, get in touch with our Yorkshire-based team today. You can either call us on 0333 323 5292 or fill in our online form and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Areas of expertise

Our established team has extensive experience on a number of corporate issues, including:

• Private companies
• Public companies
• Acquisitions
• Disposals
• Family businesses
• Limited liability partnerships
• Reorganisations
• Corporate structures and governance
• Banking and finance
• Shareholder agreements
• Succession and retirement issues

Legal Advice for Companies

Whether you are just starting up, have a well-established business or are planning your exit, making the right decisions for your organisation is always your top priority, so it is great to know you can draw on our wealth of expertise whenever you need to.

Based in offices in Leeds, Sheffield and York, our corporate solicitors are ready to help you and your business with any needs you may have. To get in touch, call 0333 323 5292 or complete the enquiry form and we will get back to you.

We can help you with:

Public Companies

You may be looking to raise capital in a public limited company (PLC) by offering shares to private and institutional investors through an initial public offering or offering shares to a selected base of institutional investors through a placing. Our team has been involved in a number of high-profile regional deals. It has particular experience in the healthcare market, company reorganisations and in dealing with information memoranda for collective investment schemes.

We can advise on:

• Initial public offerings (IPO)
• Placings
• Financial promotion
• Market abuse
• Insider dealing
• Prospectus rules
• Disclosure and transparency rules
• The Takeover Code
• Our team can also support you when entering the AIM market, which is designed primarily for emerging or smaller businesses where a higher investment risk tends to be attached than larger or more established public companies.

Opportunities and Risks

While the potential rewards for investors in public companies is great, any prospective investor should be aware of the risks of investing in such companies and should make the decision to invest only after careful consideration and, if appropriate, consultation with an independent financial adviser. As such, the governance, law and regulation affecting public companies are subject to significant legislation, rules and regulations.

Additionally, we can assist if a listed company decides to return to private status. This can be beneficial if the company is undervalued by the market, or more commonly because the optimal strategy for the business is inconsistent with the requirements of the public markets. Whatever the reason, we have the expertise to help a company fulfil its potential.

Private Companies

Our team of experienced corporate lawyers can advise you on many topics related to private limited companies, including:

• The incorporation of a new company
• The preparation and negotiation of shareholders’ agreements
• Bespoke sets of articles of association for a new venture
• Facilitate an equity investment into your existing business
• A demerger or any other kind of solvent reorganisation
• The raising of finance and negotiations with a bank or other lender
• Advising on corporate governance considerations for directors of private limited companies
• The provision of company and secretarial services
• Preparing for your exit and managing the sales process
• We can provide the support you need to drive your interests forward.

Management Buy Outs and Management Buy Ins

If you and your business partners are interested in arranging a management buy out (MBO) or a management buy in (MBI), our extensive team of straight-talking solicitors is here to help you.

MBOs and MBIs can be complex and time-consuming and often bear risks for the involved company and the management team.  Therefore, it is very important that you seek an experienced corporate legal advisor as soon as possible.

What is an MBO?

A management buy out (MBO) is a form of acquisition where a company’s existing managers acquire a large part or all of the company from either the parent company or from the private individual owners.

What is an MBI?

A management buy in (MBI) is a corporate transaction in which an outside manager or management team purchases an ownership stake in a company and replaces the existing management team.  This type of action can occur due to a company appearing undervalued or having a poor management team.

What is an IBO?

An institutional buy out (IBO) is a corporate transaction which will see an institutional investor, such as an external venture capitalist (VC) or private equity (PE) firm, approach a business and purchase a controlling interest; typically in order to take advantage of its market growth potential.   In many cases, IBOs will see the VC / PE firm purchasing the established business and decide to retain the much of existing management team.  They may also look to bring in a new management team and make them stakeholders in the business in order to maximise the company’s growth and development.

What is a VIMBO?

A vendor initiated management buy out (VIMBO) is a virtually identical process to a management buyout (MBO) with one key difference – the vendor (selling company or private individual owners) is the one making the approach to the management team rather than the other way around.

What is a BIMBO?

A buy in management buy out (BIMBO) is a type of transaction that combines the characteristics of a management buy-in and management buy out.  This type of transaction is ideal for companies that have strong operational management, but lack leadership with the exit of the selling owner.  A BIMBO occurs when existing management – along with outside managers – decides to buy out a company.

Within the corporate finance team at Lupton Fawcett, we have extensive experience of a wide variety of MBOs, MBIs and more.

Funding an MBO

Management teams can be under the illusion that a buy out is not possible because, collectively, the team members do not have sufficient funds to meet the purchase price. This is quite a common misconception.  It is true to say that members of the buy out team are required to invest a sum of personal money into Newco in return for an equity interest (a “stake”) in the business.  However, the vast majority of the consideration is usually provided by third party financial institutions such as banks, venture capitalists and even the vendors themselves by way of deferred consideration.  Sources of finance for a buy out are summarised below.

Management equity

The personal investment required by members of the buy out team needs to be meaningful to each individual taking into account their own financial position and personal circumstances. The sum need not be vast but will typically represent around 6 to 12 months’ salary. The investment made by management serves to demonstrate their belief in and commitment to the MBO to third party funders.

Bank funding

Banks obtain their return on investment by way of interest on the sum advanced. The availability of bank finance is therefore reliant on the ability of the business to service the future capital and interest repayments following legal completion of the buy out.

Private equity

Funding from a private equity or venture capital investor will always be conditional upon their taking an equity stake, usually as a minority shareholder in a new holding company. The investment returns on a private equity investment are twofold: interest income on the funding provided and capital growth in the equity stake. Private equity providers make the majority of their money on the sale of their shareholding when the company is sold, usually within a period of around five years after the MBO. Consequently, this type of finance is typically only available in support of those buy outs where substantial capital growth and a relatively fast exit is anticipated.

Vendor deferred consideration

Vendors, as you would expect, prefer the consideration to be paid to them in full at legal completion of a transaction.  However, this is rarely feasible and vendors usually need to defer a proportion of the consideration in order for an MBO to proceed.  Indeed funding offers are normally conditional on a proportion of the consideration being deferred.

Business cash flows may be insufficient to support capital and interest repayments on the amount of debt which would otherwise be needed; furthermore, funders gain comfort from the vendor’s’ financial endorsement of the management team.

Earn-outs

An earn-out is a specific type of vendor deferred consideration whereby additional consideration is payable to the vendors contingent on the future trading performance of the business following completion of the buy out.  The vendors may believe that the business is worth more than the MBO team does or more than can be funded based on its past financial performance.  Including an earn-out structure may lead to additional consideration being payable to the vendor if the business achieves or surpasses specific financial targets following completion of the buy out. An earn-out helps to maximise the value of the business for the vendors and eliminate uncertainty for the MBO team.

The Team

In order to provide you with the best possible service, we work hard to understand your business and your objectives, and because you cannot always predict when issues will arise, we are committed to being available whenever you and your business need us.

How Lupton Fawcett can help

The corporate law team provides a service that is tailored to the needs of you and your businesses. We understand that starting, buying or selling a business is an incredibly complex process, which is why we will be with you every step of the way to ensure you have a full understanding of your options.

Our flexible approach has recently been highly praised in the leading law firm directory Chambers and Partners, who said:

“This proactive and supporting team has been involved in a number of high-profile regional deals. It has particular experience in the healthcare market, company reorganisations and in dealing with information memoranda for collective investment schemes.”

To read about how we have helped businesses with corporate law matters, take a look at our news section.

Contact us for help

For advice on all aspects of corporate law, talk to our solicitors based in Sheffield, Leeds and York by using the details on the enquiry form.