Unlike say for a consumer, the buyer of shares or assets be warned; the law provides no statutory or common law protection as to the nature and extent of the assets or liabilities you are acquiring. It is therefore usual for the buyer to negotiate certain forms of contractual protection into the purchase agreement for
Contracts should always specify the precise details of the terms and conditions relating to payments, duties, timescale etc. However, sometimes the courts can rule that a term is implied in an agreement even though it hasn’t been put in writing, as happened in a recent case involving the sale of land. The seller gave a
Businesses could now face prosecution if they fail to prevent staff from criminally facilitating tax evasion. The new measures came into effect on 30 September. It was already a crime to evade tax, or deliberately help another person to do so, but the government is now taking an even firmer stance in a move designed
Britain has seen a surge in the number of new businesses being created each year, according to the latest government figures. There are now a record 5.5 million private sector firms – a million more than seven years ago. The Minister for Small Business, Margot James, welcomed the figures, saying: “Small businesses employ 12.5 million
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which oversees data protection in the UK, has urged businesses to prepare for major regulation changes coming into force next year. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is an EU initiative to harmonise data protection across the European Union and it will apply in the UK from 25 May 2018.
A company was not justified in terminating a contract due to alleged defects in work carried out but that did not remove its right to recover overpayments. That was the decision of the High Court in a case involving a multi-million-pound contract between Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd and Merit Merrell Technology Ltd. Merrell had agreed
If you’ve worked hard to build up a successful business it’s only natural that you wish to hand it on to your sons or daughters. However, there are several risks involved. In some ways, succession plans involving family members are more likely to cause problems than handovers involving complete strangers. With strangers, people tend to
Three directors have been banned from running a company for up to seven years after making illegal payments to benefit themselves instead of creditors. The three directors ran a family owned demolition company that was placed into liquidation with an estimated deficiency to creditors of £1,755,782. Despite this, the directors continued to trade to their
Historically, companies were required to include an Objects clause in their Memorandums of Association. This clause sets out the purpose of the company and listed the activities that the company was able to undertake. If a company acted outside of their Objects, those actions were said to be ultra vires (i.e. acting outside of their
While entrepreneurs may have experience in plying their own trade, it takes a certain critical mass and business acumen before one finds him or herself comfortable enough to contemplate the acquisition of another business or company. For others, it may simply be a leap of faith, motivated by the promise of growth. Nevertheless, it is