Commercial and Corporate Law Solicitors

Our corporate, company and commercial solicitors can offer expert advice whether you are an established company or starting your first business.

Our team of corporate law solicitors advise a wide range of clients from start-up businesses to PLCs on all aspects of corporate law. The areas of corporate law are diverse and complex; this is why we always recommend contacting experienced commercial law solicitors to support you through every step.

Corporate Law Specialisms

Our corporate law solicitors have extensive experience advising a wide range of businesses across Yorkshire, Cumbria and the North East. The corporate law services that we specialise in include:

• Finance and M&As: M&As, or mergers and acquisitions, are transactions in which two or more separate companies are consolidated.
• Joint ventures: A corporate arrangement in which two or more parties work together and contribute assets for a particular goal or project.
• Restructuring: Making significant changes to how a company is organised in order to improve the business.
• Corporate governance: The laws which govern how a business is directed and operated.
• Share capital: The money raised by a business through shareholders.

Finance and M&As

Our commercial law solicitors have supported firms in a range of industries with important, complex and multi-layered transactions. Many of the team are highly experienced in corporate acquisitions, due diligence, re-organisations, MBOs, MBIs and BIMBOs.

Joint Ventures

Joint ventures can offer a practical solution to business requirements, and our team are here to ensure your joint venture progresses as smoothly as possible. Usually, joint ventures involve existing businesses agreeing to join forces to share expertise and develop a new business while sharing the risk of any initial investment.

As there is no specific joint venture law, it’s vital to draft a joint venture agreement that covers the various applicable areas of corporate law. This makes the legal nature of joint ventures inherently complex, so sourcing corporate law solicitors with the right experience is key. Our team will support you through the entire process and help to ensure all parties fully understand their rights.

Corporate Governance

The directors of a company have to understand how the law affects their duties to stakeholders, creditors, the company and its shareholders. Company directors face increasing scrutiny, and therefore businesses need to appoint corporate law solicitors who specialise in the intricacies of corporate governance. Our commercial law team advise on all aspects of corporate governance, including;

• Incorporations
• Articles of association
• Stakeholder agreements
• Company constitutions
• Statutory books
• Resolutions
• The appointment and removal of directors and company secretaries
• Directors’ duties
• Shareholder rights and structure
• Companies House compliance and returns

Share Capital

Selling shares is the easiest way to change share ownership. Existing company shareholders can buy and sell shares between them, or a new party can buy from a current shareholder through a share sale agreement. The distribution of share capital can become a complex matter, but our commercial law solicitors will work to support you through the process and ensure you understand your legal rights.

Demergers

Stakeholders may carry out a demerger – where business activities are separated by the stakeholders into individual companies – in order to increase shareholder value. The corporate law solicitors at Newtons offer a full-service support to demerging companies, including commercial, dispute resolution, employment, commercial property and private client.

We also advise businesses on:

Franchising
Agreements
Company law
Buying or selling a company