The last six months have presented significant challenges to business owners who have grappled with continuing their businesses in the face of restrictive lockdown rules imposed to combat the spread of Covid 19. Many business owners are now operating with a workforce of home workers and their typical working day differs significantly from their life pre-March 2020.
As face to face meetings, corporate events and travel have been stripped from the schedules, business owners may finally find some free time during their day to review the nuts and bolts of their business. That long-awaited review of the shareholding structure, the employee share scheme that has been in the offing for years, the review of key commercial contracts, for some there is now enough time in the working week to get around to these projects.
Future Fund – access to growth capital for high growth companies
The Coronavirus pandemic has seen a reduction in the usual funding streams for some businesses and has forced the Government to think creatively about how they can support promising, infant companies. The result is the new Future Fund.
What is the Future Fund?
On the 20th May 2020 the Government launched another Coronavirus short term rescue package to support business. The Future Fund is aimed at helping pre-revenue or pre-profit companies that were struggling to qualify for other Government rescue packages.
Simon joined our Manchester office as a solicitor in the Corporate department in March 2020.
He qualified as a solicitor in 2019 after successfully completing his training contract at a national law firm with an office in Manchester.
Simon has experience of working upon a variety of corporate instructions including share acquisitions and disposals, company reorganisations and incorporations.
Outside of work Simon has a keen interest in film and politics whilst he also enjoys cycling.
Barney is a Partner in Bermans Corporate team and joined in 2020.
Prior to becoming a solicitor he worked for an international domestic bank. He has a degree in Business Studies and qualified as a solicitor in 1996.
He has over 20 years of corporate law experience and acts for a variety of international and domestic business in several sectors including retail, software, online, professional services firms, finance and investment funds.
His work includes acquiring and disposing of businesses from £500k to £120M, venture capital and private equity work, shareholder and partnership disputes, development of businesses prior to disposal in addition to the general commercial work that working with long established clients brings.
In his spare time he has an interest in Art and he is trustee of Castlefield Art Gallery which has for over 20 years assisted in the development of northern artists.
His recent work/transactions includes:-
Partial disposal of a crane company based in Merseyside with an option for the sale of the remaining shareholding
MBO of an English stove manufacturer based in Exeter
Shareholders dispute of an £80M turnover employment company
Acquisition of a taxi company in the NorthWest
Private equity investment into an online magazine company
Disposal of a highways infrastructure company to a listed buyer
Bermans has made two appointments to its Corporate team. The team, led by Jon Davage, welcomed Barney Leafas a partner and Simon Nolan as a Solicitor from Laytons LLP.
Barney has over 20 years of corporate law experience and acts for international and domestic businesses in many sectors ranging from retail, online, law firms, insurance, finance and investment funds.
Joining Barney from Laytons will be his assistant solicitor, Simon Nolan. Simon will undertake the variety of corporate instructions that are generated by the varied portfolio of clients that Bermans acts for.
Rohini joined Bermans in October 2019 having qualified as a Solicitor in 2019 after completing her Training Contract at a large regional firm based in Manchester focusing on providing corporate support to all sizes of businesses.
Rohini has experience in a range of corporate matters including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, restructures and demergers and corporate governance.
Outside of work Rohini enjoys hot yoga, wine and films.
The Manchester corporate team at Bermans advised Nottingham-headquartered engineering business through its acquisition by US owned Brennan Industries Inc.
Locking in your key employees is always a balancing act between work life balance, remuneration packages and showing employees they are valued and part of the very fabric of the organisation.
One of the most effective ways of imbedding employees into your business is through capital ownership, which provides a shared goal towards exit and increasing value.
This is a powerful way to tell a key employee of their value to the business and can create an “in this together” attitude.
Such a structure creates rewards for all on a fair basis through the eventual sale of the business.
One of the most popular types of employee share option schemes with SMEs is enterprise management incentives (‘EMI’).
EMI schemes are a popular way of attracting and retaining employees and they can provide significant tax benefits.
What do Riverford, the organic vegetable box company, Richer Sounds, the hi-fi chain and Turleys, the planning consultancy have in common? Well, as from May 2019, they are or are about to become employee owned businesses with Julian Richer being the latest business owner to announce he is transferring 60% of his shareholding into an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).
If you are a business owner, in business with one or more partners, have you taken time to consider what might happen to the business if you, or one of them, were suddenly not around or capable of taking part?
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Solicitor
Locking in your key employees is always a balancing act between work life balance, remuneration packages and showing employees they are valued and part of the very fabric of the organisation.
What do Riverford, the organic vegetable box company, Richer Sounds, the hi-fi chain and Turleys, the planning consultancy have in common? Well, as from May 2019, they are or are about to become employee owned businesses with Julian Richer being the latest business owner to announce he is transferring 60% of his shareholding into an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).
If you are a business owner, in business with one or more partners, have you taken time to consider what might happen to the business if you, or one of them, were suddenly not around or capable of taking part?