Investments

We specialise in advising corporate clients who are looking to raise capital. We also act for individual and institutional investors.

Capital may be required for many reasons including expansion, re-financing earlier investment and, in some circumstances, to help deal with financial stress in the business.

There are a myriad of options available for financing in the modern marketplace, including:

• Traditional banks and alternative debt providers;
• Institutional, venture capital and private equity investment;
• High net worth individuals and EIS investment funds; and
• Crowdfunding.

With the increasing number of options available, we understand that the investment process can be confusing. We will help you understand the options available and the legal and compliance issues around each one, and then discuss with you the best options available for your business.

When a funding option is chosen, we will work with you to ensure that the legal documentation reflects the commercial deal.

Many investments we deal with for our clients will involve the issue of new shares. With such equity funding, we will help negotiate for you the legal documentation dealing with the rights of the respective shareholders, including founder shareholders, management shareholders and incoming investor shareholders. This will cover the following areas:

• Any preferential dividend or return of capital rights for investors;
• Dividend policies;
• Ongoing management of the business, board structure and the investors’ access to regular information;
• Matters requiring investor consent;
• What happens to shares in the event of founder or management shareholders leaving the business; and
• How an exit of the business will be managed and how exit proceeds will be split between shareholders.