BRAVIOT advises businesses at every stage, from the founder setting up a first UK company through to established businesses navigating investment rounds, acquisitions, restructurings and exits. We work in close partnership with management and external advisors to deliver corporate legal work that is clear, commercial and properly aligned with the business strategy behind it.
How we can help
- Company formations, restructures and group reorganisations
- Shareholder and joint venture agreements
- Investment rounds, share issues and option schemes
- Mergers, acquisitions and disposals (sell-side and buy-side)
- Corporate governance, board procedures and director duties
- Articles of association, shareholder resolutions and Companies House filings
Our approach
Corporate work is rarely about the document alone. The real value sits in helping clients understand what the deal really means, for cash flow, control, tax and the next round of decisions. We focus on getting the structure right early, so the paperwork serves the business rather than constrains it.
Talk to BRAVIOT
Tell us briefly what you are dealing with and we will respond the same working day with a clear next step.
Get in touchFrequently asked questions
Yes, in most cases. Articles are a public document focused on company-level rules, while a shareholders’ agreement is a private contract between the shareholders. It covers things articles cannot: who can join the board, decision thresholds, transfer restrictions, drag-along/tag-along rights, dispute resolution and exit mechanics. Most disputes between co-founders trace back to issues a well-drafted shareholders’ agreement would have addressed.
Anywhere from four weeks to four months, depending on the size of the deal, the quality of the target’s records, the financing arrangements and how prepared each side is. The biggest accelerator is good preparation by the seller, clean records, organised contracts and clear answers in due diligence shave weeks off the timetable.
UK directors owe a set of statutory duties under the Companies Act 2006, including to act in good faith, exercise reasonable care and skill, and avoid conflicts. Personal liability typically arises where a director acts knowingly outside those duties, signs a personal guarantee, continues to trade while the company is insolvent, or breaches specific compliance regimes (data protection, anti-bribery, sanctions, etc.).
Yes. We design and document Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) schemes for qualifying companies, including the valuation submission to HMRC, option agreements and amendments to articles. We also advise on alternatives, growth shares, unapproved options, phantom schemes, where EMI is not available.
We work with non-UK groups on the full set-up, entity selection, incorporation, directorships, UK banking, intercompany agreements, IP transfers and the employment and immigration questions that come with hiring locally. Our integrated business immigration practice means sponsor licence and Skilled Worker advice runs alongside the corporate work, rather than as a separate workstream.