Commercial Law

Whether you are just setting up your business, or are large and well established, we can advise you on all legal aspects involved with starting, developing and running your business.

Crane & Staples can provide comprehensive legal advice for all your business needs.

Commercial law is a dynamic field, so our experienced team is a particularly progressive one that strives to provide individually tailored solutions to specific business needs.

We will work with you to ensure that you and your business are protected. We can advise on the best legal structure for your business and provide expert legal advice on your commercial contracts and agreements such as terms of business with both customers and suppliers. We can also advise upon a range of mergers, acquisitions and disposals, and franchises.

Our commercial team works closely with both our property and employment teams to ensure that you have a full range of legal expertise for each particular transaction.

Business Development

When running a business we understand that it is essential for you to have access to clear and practical legal advice at every stage of development.

At Crane & Staples we take a client-focused approach and create strong client and solicitor relationships. This means that the advice we give is specifically tailored to your business needs.

As your business develops, you may require advice in a number of areas, including the following:

• Commercial agreements – which may include confidentiality and exclusivity agreements, or bespoke agreements to be prepared upon your instructions or advised upon
• Periodic review of your commercial agreements and arrangements together with management and administration of your business affairs
• Company secretarial function
• Terms of Business
• Contracts with customers and suppliers
• Franchise agreements as a way of expanding your business. We can act for you as a franchisor, preparing the relevant documentation.
• Joint venture agreements to bring commercial or individual entities together with a common purpose.
• Financial documentation which may comprise institutional lending, loan agreements, debentures and guarantees.
• Share options and share restructuring

We have expertise to assist with all areas of your business development providing you with commercially focused advice to meet your business requirements.

Business Start-up

Whether you intend to start a new venture as a sole trader, partnership, small company or major corporation, it is essential that you receive the right advice.

Our team can help you to understand the legal implications of any arrangements you propose to enter into, and ensure that those business arrangements are correctly formulated.

If you are thinking of starting a new business, you may need to review the following:

• The required structure to operate the business, taking into account tax considerations.
• Have you given consideration to issues such as how profits will be distributed? How will the Company / business activities be managed and controlled? How will you deal with ambiguity amongst owners/shareholders? It may be that a shareholders or partnership agreement will be appropriate to clearly document the arrangements between the parties.
• Are you fully aware of the statutory requirements of running a business and requirements of Companies House?
• Do you need assistance with terms of business for your clients and customers?
• Would you benefit from periodic review of your business agreements to support the growth of your business?

Our aim is to create a long lasting working relationship to ensure that we understand your business and work with you throughout the development of your business to achieve your aims.

Buying or Selling a Business

Acquisitions may be preferable to starting a business from scratch and are also useful ways of expanding your business.

Buying an existing business gives you an opportunity to evaluate its track record.

If you are considering buying a business, a written agreement is essential, particularly when addressing problematic areas of possible future dispute including payment, warranties and indemnities.

We can advise upon a range of mergers, acquisitions and disposal, providing a smooth transition in order to enhance the probability of success.

We understand the need for accurate advice to minimise risk.

We can assist with the following:

• The sale or purchase of the share capital of a company to include attending to all ancillary aspects such as purchase of a property and / or lease, employees and fixed or intangible assets.
  Sale or purchase of the assets of a business to include the acquisition or disposal of goodwill and stock, and the assignment of a lease.
• Franchises – when taking a franchise of an existing business a franchisor will require you to enter into a Franchise Agreement. We can advise you upon the terms and negotiate appropriate amendments.
• We appreciate that most commercial acquisitions and disposals are time critical and our team will be on hand to progress each aspect of the transaction to meet the commercial requirements of the parties and the agreed timescale.

Our commercial team works closely with both our property and employment teams in such matters to ensure that you have a full range of legal expertise for each particular transaction.