Shareholders' agreement meaning

This Checklist This Checklist outlines the actions required when shaping and composing a marital or civil partnership agreement. It also covers formalities, including execution as a deed, duties affecting third parties, and the court’s jurisdiction. It further addresses financial disclosure, property that is non-matrimonial or outside the civil partnership, fairness, undue influence, and the need for independent legal advice for marital agreements, and can serve as an aide-memoire when drafting a marital or civil partnership agreement. It is suitable for use with pre-nuptial, post-nuptial, and separation agreements...

Parties Who are the parties involved? In particular, specify: the investor(s) the managers the investee company (newco) Conditions Are there any conditions to completing the investment? What are each party’s obligations to meet those conditions, and by what deadline? Share subscription What will the investee company’s capital structure be? Which class and how many shares will each shareholder (the investor, the managers and any other shareholders) subscribe for? Warranties Who will give the warranties? Is it limited to the managers? Will they be provided jointly, jointly and severally, or on a several basis? How wide will the warranties be? It is usual for investment agreement warranties to centre on the business plan and the managers, as the acquisition agreement generally affords the investor sufficient protection regarding the company. What restrictions will apply to warranty claims? These may include: periods within which claims must be notified caps on each warrantor’s liability and on...

Purpose of checklist This checklist aims to set out the types of considerations that must be kept in view-and for which client instructions will be required-when preparing a joint venture agreement (JVA) and articles of association for a corporate real estate transaction. For further key points to address when drafting a JVA, see Checklists: Corporate joint venture preliminary issues-checklist and Joint venture shareholders’ agreement-checklist. See also Practice Note: Property Joint Ventures-general issues for a summary of the commercial matters the joint venture parties will need to weigh when establishing a property joint venture (JV). Corporate real estate JVs typically involve collaboration between parties able to source real estate (with one party possibly owning, and contributing to the joint venture company (JVC), the property to be developed), provide substantial capital to the JVC, supply or arrange debt funding (to finance the development) and offer the expertise to develop and/or manage the property. The JVA will document the parties’ agreement on their respective rights in relation to issues such as management...

Prepared with Anthony Shatz of Fladgate LLP, this flowchart outlines the steps to be taken and the key matters to consider for a transfer of shares in a joint venture company (JVC), where a right of first refusal (ROFR), together with drag along and tag along provisions, appear in the articles of association/shareholders’ agreement...

Checklist Many family-run enterprises often begin with a largely informal governance arrangement; relatives share a tacit grasp of duties and relationships, and decisions are taken swiftly at the kitchen table. By their nature these businesses are flexible and informal, with priorities typically guided by doing what is best for the family in line with the family’s values, rather than being driven solely by owners’ profit. However, as the business develops and more family members and other employees come on board, managing operations in this ad hoc way becomes progressively harder, as what was once straightforward to coordinate across a small group becomes complex to control as headcount and responsibilities increase. The pros and cons of formalising the family business are addressed in Practice Note: Family businesses. This checklist sets out questions an adviser can put to the family (or that the family can consider themselves) to help design an effective structure for the family business. The same questions will also help identify the matters to be covered in any...

Original news Banwaitt v Dewji and another [2015] EWHC 3441 (Ch) What issues did this case raise? This decision will interest practitioners advising judgment creditors with a charging order against a debtor’s share in jointly owned property, and anyone dealing with security over beneficial interests in land more generally. The central issue was whether a married couple, as co-owners, could have a charging order removed from the title by the wife buying the husband’s stake. The claimant had secured a substantial judgment which the debtor failed to satisfy. A charging order was then obtained over the debtor’s beneficial interest in the family home. Thereafter, the debtor and his wife transferred the property into her sole name for a modest sum. She argued the order no longer bound the title—maintaining it had been ‘overreached’ under sections 2 and 27 of the Law of Property Act 1925. The debtor tendered that sum to the claimant. However, the debtor had not obtained the claimant’s agreement in advance to the disposition and, in...

HMRC v Peter Gould [2024] UKUT 285 (TCC). Peter Gould (PG) and Nicholas Gould (NG) were the principal shareholders of Regis Group (Holdings) Ltd (Regis). On 31 March 2016, the board, which included PG and NG, approved an interim dividend of £40m. NG received his distribution in the 2015-16 tax year. PG’s amount, relating to the same share class, was paid in 2016-17, when he was not UK resident. HMRC contended that, for income tax purposes, PG should be regarded as having received his interim dividend at the same time as NG, that is, when he was still UK resident. A dividend is taxable in the tax year in which it becomes a debt that is due and payable...

Vanbo Investments Pte Ltd v ph AG [2026] SGHC 65 What are the practical implications of the case? Pin down the governing jurisdiction clause at the start, right at the outset, without delay, early too. For transactions spread across several contracts, each with its own dispute resolution term, the operative provision turns on the dispute’s ‘pith and substance’—the agreement most closely tied to the claims actually advanced. If the parties meant one clause to regulate the relationship as a whole, a primacy provision (here, a Term Sheet term stating that the Shareholders’ Agreement prevails in any inconsistency) is decisive. Where an exclusive jurisdiction clause applies, the ‘strong cause’ standard is engaged. The case underscores that, once such a clause is operative, the controlling inquiry is whether ‘strong cause’ exists to refuse a stay. The threshold is exacting—mere inconvenience and unfamiliarity with foreign law do not suffice, especially where these were foreseeable when the exclusive clause was agreed. Concern about fragmentation...

FORTHCOMING CHANGE relating to the modernisation of stamp taxes on shares framework: In 2027, stamp duty and SDRT are set to be superseded by a single, self‑assessed tax on securities — the securities transfer charge (STC) — to be paid and reported via a new online portal. The STC’s core features are expected to broadly reflect the proposals consulted on in 2023. Finance Act 2026 (FA 2026) confers a power for secondary legislation to let taxpayers trial the digital service, self‑assessing their stamp taxes on securities liabilities and submitting transactions electronically. For further details on the modernisation of stamp taxes on securities, see: News Analyses: Budget 2025—Tax analysis—Stamp and transfer taxes Tax update spring 2025—Stamp taxes on shares modernisation Tax update spring 2025—Tax analysis—Stamp and transfer taxes TAMD 2023—Stamp taxes on shares modernisation TAMD 2023—consultation—stamp taxes on shares Tax Administration and Maintenance Day—27 April 2023—Stamp and transfer taxes The government also consulted on modernising and clarifying...

CASE HUB ARCHIVED – this archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the decision of 27 March 2014; it is no longer maintained See further, timeline, commentary and related cases. Case facts Outline of the OFT’s Chapter I investigation into Pride Mobility Products and retailers concerning mobility scooters (Case CE/9578-12). Latest developments On 27 March 2014, the OFT delivered its infringement decision and instructed the companies to cease the arrangements (where this has not already occurred) and to refrain from entering comparable arrangements in future. No fines were imposed, as the agreements qualified as a ‘small agreement’ exempt from penalties—this applies where the parties’ combined turnover is below £20m and price fixing is not involved. The OFT has issued its statement of objections, and the parties will now have the chance to respond...

Subscription and shareholders’ agreement This Practice Note offers guidance for drafters preparing and/or reviewing a subscription and shareholders’ agreement relating to the allotment of shares (and, potentially, loan notes) in a private limited company incorporated in England and Wales by a private equity (or venture capital) fund investor (the investor) within a venture capital (VC) deal, where the structure provides for split exchange and completion, ie conditions must be met before completion of the subscription and shareholders’ agreement. The investment contemplated is into an existing company (the Company), with the current shareholders (typically the business’s founders) keeping the shares they have already been issued in the Company. Set out below are matters to weigh up when drafting and/or reviewing the principal provisions of a subscription and shareholders’ agreement (SSA). Parties The investee company Although the principal parties to the SSA will be the relevant investor and the Company’s founders, the Company will ordinarily be included as a party too, ie the vehicle in which the investor...

This Agreement, dated [ • ] 20[ • ], is entered into between the following parties: Parties [ insert name of Borrower ], a company incorporated in England and Wales with registered number [ insert company number ], whose registered office is at [ insert address ] (the Borrower); and [ insert name of Lender ] of [ insert address ] (the Lender). Background (A) [ insert description of background to transaction ]. (B) The Lender has agreed to provide the Facility (as defined below) to the Borrower on the terms and conditions contained in this Agreement...

Insert the following definitions as new definitions into clause 1 of Precedent: Share purchase agreement—pro-buyer—corporate seller—conditional—long form: 1 Definitions and interpretation Sanctioned Activity: activity subject to a Sanctioning Body’s sanctions. Sanctioning Body: United Kingdom, United States of America, European Union, and any other authority administering sanctions. Sanctioned Entity: any person or entity that is, or is owned or controlled (directly or indirectly) by one that is, sanctioned or on a designated list of a Sanctioning Body; ‘owned or controlled directly or indirectly’ has the meaning in Sanctions Laws. Sanctions Laws: all law on a Sanctioned Activity binding either Party or the Agreement’s performance. Sanctions Policy: the Seller’s sanctions policy in Appendix [insert Appendix number], as updated and notified to the Buyer. is not a Sanctioned Entity; has not been notified of any Sanctioned Activity investigation; is unaware of Business circumstances likely to prompt such investigation; shall comply with Sanctions Laws and the Sanctions Policy; ...

This Agreement is entered into on [ date ] Parties [ Insert name of party ] [ of OR a company incorporated in England and Wales under number [ insert registered number ] with its registered office at ] [ insert address ] (Party 1); and [ Insert name of party ] [ of OR a company incorporated in England and Wales under number [ insert registered number ] with its registered office at ] [ insert address ] (Party 2), each of Party 1 and Party 2 being a party and, together, the parties. BACKGROUND Party 1 supplies [ insert description of goods and/or services ]. Party 2 supplies [ insert description of goods and/or services ]. The parties intend to submit a Bid as a joint tender to the Customer in answer to the Invitation to Tender. The parties seek to state their obligations and manage their rights concerning the Bid and, if the...

What are the formality requirements for assigning a commercial lease? There are three principal formalities for assigning a lease. First, the agreement to assign must be in writing and signed, and it must contain all terms expressly agreed by the parties in a single document or, if contracts are exchanged, in each counterpart (section 2 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 (LP(MP)A 1989)). Second, the assignment must be carried out by deed, even where the lease itself was originally granted orally (section 53 of the Law of Property Act 1925; Crago v Julian). Third, if the lease being transferred is a registered lease, the assignment only completes once it has been registered at HM Land Registry (section 27(1)(a) of the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002))...

We proceed on the basis that the company concerned is neither a right to manage (RTM) vehicle administering property under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (an uncommon scenario, as such entities typically assume management separate from freehold ownership) nor a nominee company established to acquire the freehold collectively under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, where the obligations of individual qualifying tenants regarding payment can be governed by a participation agreement. See Practice Notes: Guide to the right to collective enfranchisement under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and Quick guide to time limits for collective enfranchisement under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993...

The Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) permits an employer to make a deduction from a worker’s ‘wages’ (as defined in ERA 1996, s 27) if: a statutory provision requires or authorises the deduction to be made, for example the obligation to deduct income tax or National Insurance contributions through Pay As You Earn (PAYE); a relevant term of the worker’s contract permits such a deduction, for instance where the employer has advanced a loan and holds a contractual right to recover money from the worker’s wages in repayment; the worker has already confirmed in writing their agreement or consent to the deduction being taken For further information, see, generally, Practice Note: Deductions from wages, and in particular the principal section covering the topic 'When deductions are lawful'...