Buying a Business – Legal Support
Seeking legal advice before signing on a commercial loan agreement can deliver you a better deal and save cost. From simple loan contracts to complex financing agreements, the experienced lawyers at The Law Firm Group can walk you through the terms and conditions to point out the pitfalls and benefits and give you the clarity you need to make the best choice for your business. We can also advise you whether there is room for negotiation.
Professional Legal Support With Commercial Borrowing
Commercial finance is a broad market, with thousands of lenders and providers offering a complex array of terms, charges and repayment conditions.
The Law Firm Group works with businesses of all sizes to ensure you are fully aware of every legal implication associated with a commercial borrowing product, expediting the application process and protecting your interests at all times.
Our meticulous approach enables us to make independent recommendations for businesses choosing between commercial loan options, with diligent oversight when negotiating terms, reviewing loan documentation, or highlighting potential risks.
With an outstanding team of corporate solicitors, The Law Firm Group focuses on transparency, guiding companies through issues such as personal guarantees, asset security and exit penalties.
Our Commercial Loans Legal Advice Services
Any commercial loan carries risks and rewards, often associated with the need to balance capital injection requirements against the long-term liability.
The Law Firm Group has expertise in every area of commercial funding, including:
- Business mortgages and secured loans
- Bridging and mezzanine finance products
- Property investment portfolios
- Second charges on business assets
- Development finance
- Commercial security
Whether taking out borrowing to expand your business, develop a new site, purchase a trading premise or invest in future production capacity, legal advice is vital to ensure you make sound, informed choices and avoid any unnecessary expense.
The Benefits of Legal Advice When Applying for Commercial Loans
A considerable amount of information is available for businesses, but generic guidance is no substitute for bespoke advice tailored to protect your business’s interests.
In many cases, loan agreements for secured or unsecured commercial borrowing contain clauses that may not be immediately apparent but represent a critical business risk.
The Law Firm Group works closely with every client, navigating the sensitivities involved whether you need an expedited funding method or to clarify any exposures associated with a new borrowing product.
Our experience across the commercial, legal and taxation aspects of commercial loans, including inter-company loans, puts us in an excellent position to deliver prompt advice and steer you through the significance of providing business security.
Independent Commercial Loans Legal Support
Commercial loans come in many guises and could include:
- Conventional bank loans
- Inter-company borrowing and B2B lending
- Employee and director loans
- Secured loans and second charges
- Mortgages, bridging finance or development funding
You must be comfortable with all the terms of your loan agreement. Elements such as the loan term, conditions, interest charges, repayment terms, indemnities or repossession clauses are vital to taking out competitive commercial lending.
We also strongly advise seeking professional legal support when considering commercial loans with third-party guarantees, equitable share charges or director’s personal guarantees, as these may carry additional unforeseen risks.
Personal guarantees are standard in commercial lending, particularly for smaller businesses without substantial security to offer.
However, you must understand all notable clauses and consider safeguarding options such as insurance products to avoid exposing your personal assets in the event of a repayment default.
Please get in touch with The Law Firm Group for clear, actionable advice around any structure of commercial loan to help you make considered judgments for the benefit of your company’s financial future.
Solicitors for Selling a Business
When the time comes to sell your business, our expert lawyers can help you to maximise its value prior to going to market and advise you through every step of the sale to negotiate the best possible exit. Across a variety of sectors, the lawyers at The Law Firm Group have represented both buyers and sellers in numerous business sales and can bring valuable insight of buyer strategies and practices to the negotiating table.
Professional Legal Advice When Selling a Business
Selling a business is often the culmination of decades of hard work and can be an emotional time when legal support is imperative to ensure you maximise your returns.
Professional advice from the experienced commercial teams at The Law Firm Group offers just that. We appreciate that selling a business is complex, and there are many factors to a successful transition, so provide comprehensive assistance at each stage.
Our consultants support business owners of all sizes in preparing a business for sale, evaluating the terms and conditions of sale contracts, and identifying potential risks before any transactions proceed.
Our Business Sale Legal Support Services
The key to selling a business is to ensure you have a complete understanding of each legal element of the transaction. There are multiple ways to structure a sale, and each may be more beneficial in some circumstances than others.
The Law Firm Group works with a vast range of business sectors to facilitate smooth sales without owner risk.
Our business sale services include:
- Due diligence to ensure any legal, financial or contractual vulnerabilities have been evaluated and mitigated.
- Drafting sale and purchase agreements, setting out the legal obligations of each party. This document is crucial and covers everything from asset ownership to taxation, employee commitments to profitability.
- Disclosure letters, which detail warranties provided by the seller and documented in the sale and purchase agreement. Some statements need to be qualified, and so a disclosure letter is a protection to avoid future claims for breach of warranty.
Even a seemingly simple business sale can carry substantial risks, so working through each of these stages with full legal support is essential to ensure your business sale meets your expectations.
The Benefits of Legal Guidance When Selling a Business
While there are many legal components to constructing a stable business sale transaction, several practical matters require attention.
The Law Firm Group has managed thousands of business sales and will highlight any potential disputes before they arise to ensure you can move forward.
Some of the many areas where we carry out a complete analysis are:
- Timings – identifying any critical deadlines, which are essential to meeting your sale aspirations.
- Confidentiality – many business owners wish to protect commercially sensitive information, in which case a confidentiality agreement is necessary.
- Exclusivity – business sales often require a period for the handover to occur. As a buyer commits to this investment, they often need an exclusivity agreement to ensure the owner cannot sell the business to a competitor in the meantime.
The best approach to selling a business is to consult with an experienced team of commercial solicitors before entering into any agreements. We will evaluate these possible pitfalls and advise on suitable safeguards.
Bespoke Legal Advice Preparing a Business For Sale
The Law Firm Group supports a considerable range of companies in organising a successful, streamlined business sale, including small businesses, professional firms, family enterprises and large corporations.
If you wish to explore all the options and identify obstacles to avoid, please contact our team to arrange a convenient time to discuss your business sale plans.
