Family business definition

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Formalising the family business—checklist

Formalising the family business—checklist Many family businesses start out with quite an informal governing structure in place; the family members have an understanding of their roles and relationships with each other, and decisions are made quickly at the kitchen table. The nature of many family businesses is that they are informal and flexible, and their objectives are often driven by doing the best for the family according to the family's values, rather than purely for the profit of the owners. However, as the business grows and more members of the family and other employees start working with them, it becomes more and more difficult to manage the business in this way. The pros and cons of formalising the family business are considered in Practice Note: Family businesses. This checklist sets out a list of questions that an adviser can put to the family (or that the family can consider themselves) to assist with setting up a structure for the family business. These questions will also help determine the matters to...

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Family businesses

Family businesses Many family businesses start out with quite an informal governing structure in place; the family members have an understanding of their roles and relationships with each other, and decisions are made quickly at the kitchen table. The nature of many family businesses is that they are informal and flexible and their objectives are often driven by doing the best for the family according to the family's values, rather than purely for the profit of the owners. However, as the business grows and more members of the family and other employees start working with them, it becomes more and more difficult to manage the business in this way. This Practice Note considers the advantages and disadvantages of formalising the family business, choosing a structure for a family business and family charters. Formalising the family business—advantages and disadvantages The main advantage of having an informal structure for a family business is flexibility. An informal structure gives family members the ability to make quick decisions and the freedom to...

Companies and other forms of business vehicle—glossary of terms

Companies and other forms of business vehicle—glossary of terms This glossary contains a summary and definition of some of the most common terms and phrases used in Types of UK company and Other forms of business vehicle subtopics. A Articles of association Generally referred to simply as the articles. The principal constitutional document of a company (see also Memorandum of association), dealing with management and administration issues, most notably the powers of directors, the transfer and issue of shares, and board and member meetings. The Articles form the fundamental contract between the company and the shareholders, and must be available for public inspection at Companies House. A company must adopt articles of association upon incorporation, and many companies make use of the various Model Articles provided in the Companies (Model Articles) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/3229) (eg see Precedent: Model articles—private limited company). See Practice Note: A company’s constitution. C Charitable company A charitable company is not a recognised form of business vehicle, but a phrase used to describe one of the structures most...

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Court of Appeal dismisses appeal against decision that various uses of ‘Merck’ breached an injunction (Merck v Merck)

IP analysis: The Court of Appeal held that the defendants (collectively ‘Merck US’) had breached the injunction granted by the High Court following the long-running trade mark dispute with the claimants (‘Merck Global’). In those proceedings, the court had been asked to determine various questions relating to the interpretation of co-existence agreements between the two pharmaceutical companies. Lord Justice Arnold, giving the leading judgment with which Lord Justice Philips and Lady Justice Andrews agreed, rejected all four grounds of Merck US’s appeal. In doing so, the Court of Appeal confirmed that an application for declaratory relief is an appropriate response to a breach of an injunction, even if proceedings for contempt of court are a remedy which is available to the aggrieved party. This is of note to practitioners as it means parties are not required to commence proceedings for contempt of court, which must be proved at the criminal standard. The court also provided helpful clarification on ’UK-specific’ in the context of website targeting and the definition of ‘inadvertent...

Private Client weekly highlights—17 January 2019

This week's edition of Private Client highlights includes: (1) Antoine v Barclays Bank UK, and its implications for the question of mistake when seeking to rectify the register of title at HM Land Registry, (2) Charman v HMRC which considered the pre-2013 residency regime and discovery assessments, (3) Davies, McAteer and Evan-Jones v HMRC which held that the relocation of a business abroad was done for tax reasons, and (4) Sleight v Crown Estate Commissioners which considered whether a trustee in bankruptcy, having disclaimed an asset, could apply for a vesting order where a sale of the asset had resulted in a surplus.