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For Business
Family Business Solicitors
Legal support to help your family business prosper
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When your family’s wellbeing is tied to the success of your business, getting the right advice and support is crucial.
Our extensive legal and commercial expertise will give you the tools you need to achieve your goals and give your family peace of mind.
We advise all sizes and types of family business, whether you’re just starting out or have been around for generations.
No matter how complex your legal needs are, our team can help you find the right solution.
Why choose Brachers to support your family business?
We understand the unique challenges faced by businesses like yours. Over our 125-year history, we’ve become experts at building long-term relationships with family businesses across the south east, from first-generation businesses controlled by a founding owner through to third-generation businesses with many family members involved.
No two businesses or families are the same, so we tailor our approach to your needs and family dynamics.
We encourage our clients to invest time with us early on, so that we can anticipate and avoid costly legal issues further down the line.
We also have strong relationships with other local professional advisors such as banks, accountants and wealth managers. By working with your other trusted partners, we can provide you with quick, comprehensive and cost-effective advice.
Recognition of our expertise
Brachers solicitors are consistently ranked in the top guides to law firms, The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners.
Our Private Client team has also been ranked highly in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide, which ranks the top lawyers and law firms for private wealth.
Our teams are regularly recognised in prestigious industry awards, including the South East Dealmakers Awards, the UK Probate Research Awards and the Family Law Awards.
Find out more about our awards, accreditations and partnerships that make us stand out from the rest.
How we can help family-owned businesses
Simply expand the sections below for more information on the services and support available to you.
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Business governance
Having the right governance structure in place will help you achieve commercial success and maintain healthy family relationships.
Our corporate and commercial lawyers can help you choose the right corporate structure for your family business, to preserve long-term ownership where possible.
We’ll find out about the expectations and focus of each family and non-family member involved in running your business, and how to best serve each person’s needs.
We can also advise on:
- trusts for holding shares in family businesses
- alternatives to trusts for structuring family assets for succession and tax planning
- share options to introduce both family and non-family members to ownership of a business
- re-organisation of corporate structures to suit new business models or find tax efficiencies.
Sale of family businesses
Selling a family business can be an emotional process as well as throwing up a range of legal issues.
Our highly-regarded corporate and commercial lawyers have extensive experience supporting the sale of all types of businesses under a variety of ownership structures.
We can advise you on all aspects of the process, from tax implications through to employment issues for family members who want to stay with the business after the sale.
We will ensure that matters are handled in a sympathetic way, taking into account the interests of all the parties involved.
Dispute resolution
We understand that mixing family relationships with business can sometimes lead to complicated disputes. Our dispute resolution lawyers aim to anticipate these issues and avoid conflict wherever possible.
Where disputes arise, we will work with you to find the best possible solution for the family and the business.
Our goal is to resolve disputes by collaboration, mediation and other methods of alternative dispute resolution. Our calm and sensitive approach aims to preserve family relationships.
If court proceedings cannot be avoided, subject to conflicts of interest, we can advise family members on the options available.
Employment law
Family businesses can have unique employment issues that need to be handled sensitively to avoid tensions.
We understand that the rights and expectations of family members need to be balanced with those of other company employees.
Our specialist employment lawyers work closely with family-owned businesses to understand their individual needs and help to avoid conflict or misunderstandings.
We can advise on:
- drafting employment contracts specifically for family members
- remuneration of family members
- day-to-day practical HR advice and support (from our sister company Kent HR)
- managing the performance of family members
- removing family members from involvement in the business.
Property law
If your family business owns property or wants to buy property, we can support you.
Our experienced property solicitors will provide tailored advice that will benefit your business, your family and your portfolio.
We can assist with the whole life-cycle of property ownership including:
- acquiring leases and freehold property
- managing leases and property interests
- disposing of property and terminating leases.
We also understand that there can be emotional ties to property, particularly if it has been owned by your family for a long time, or is also the family home, and we can handle these issues sensitively.
If you own several properties, find out more about our services for investors, landlords and portfolio holders.
Succession planning
It’s never too early to start thinking about succession planning, and how to ensure a smooth and successful transition.
We understand that this a key concern for family businesses, and that it affects many aspects of your business. Our succession planning experts will help you to find the right solution and give you peace of mind.
We can advise you on:
- how management can be transferred to a new generation
- how shares and other business assets can be passed on through the terms of your Will
- the options available to you if, for any reason, you cannot or do not want to pass your business on to the next generation.
Tax planning
Our specialist tax lawyers can provide comprehensive advice on areas including inheritance tax, income tax, and capital gains tax.
We can also advise on the tax aspects of succession planning for family businesses, especially those with associated family trusts.
If your business is one of many valuable assets held by the family, we can advise you on structuring and managing your wealth through a Family Office . This is a coordinated and cost-efficient way for families to manage their entire wealth and estate.
Our Private Wealth team can support single family offices and multi-family offices with a wide range of legal services.
Marriage and divorce
If you work with a spouse or civil partner in your family business, our family and corporate lawyers can help you to plan how you will protect business assets if the relationship breaks down.
This could include pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements, shareholders’ agreements or discretionary trusts.
These measures can also be considered for next-generation relationships.
Contentious Wills and estates
We have particular expertise in dealing with disputes following the death of family members where succession or tax issues may arise or where claims against an estate may affect a family business.
Our contentious probate experts aim to resolve such disputes through alternative dispute resolution.
But if court proceedings cannot be avoided, we will ensure they are conducted professionally, skilfully and as cost-effectively as possible.
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Get in touch
Please fill out the below form or alternatively you can call us on 01622 690691
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Expertise
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Private Wealth
We provide tailored legal advice to protect your wealth. Whether you want to leave a legacy for the next generation, protect your wealth during marriage, or access specialist business or property advice, we have the expertise to support you.
Find out more
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Client quoteLondon-quality advice from a responsive and approachable local firm.
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Chambers & PartnersWidely experienced corporate practice which displays a particular affinity for private equity work, offering extensive expertise in advising investors and investees on transactional matters and portfolio company work.
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Chambers & PartnersSuperb family law practice tackling substantial matrimonial finance cases, providing expertise on complex commercial, agricultural and trust structures. Possesses further expertise in handling complex Children Act matters.
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Chambers High Net Worth GuideThe empathy and reassurance provided during proceedings was of a highly personal nature.