For limited companies, when it comes to making decisions, Company Law states shareholders who own more than 50% can pass a motion at a company meeting regardless of the views of other shareholders and if shareholder(s) owns more than 75% of the shares they control the company outright and can veto the decisions of all other shareholders.
This may not suit all business situations, especially where you have two or more founders holding equal share capital or a group of owners with varying amounts of capital, some of whom are directors and some who are not, but who are all working together for the company’s success.
A shareholders’ agreement is entered into between all or some of the shareholders in a company. It regulates the relationship between the shareholders, the management of the company, ownership of the shares and the protection of the shareholders. They also govern the way in which the company is run.
A shareholders agreement can help define how a business makes decisions to the benefit of all owners and is recommended where:
Typically it is seeking to deal with the three “D’s” of death, disability and disagreement. It may also cover a variety of other significant areas, for example, retirement and buy back of shares.
Key areas for any shareholder agreement
This is not a comprehensive list as each situation is different, but it may help you collect the thoughts of all shareholders before you draw up an agreement.
Our view is that a shareholders agreement is an essential document for any limited company and an equitably drafted agreement should provide comfort to all parties to the agreement.
Please talk to us if you need help in planning for an agreement, especially where there are several shareholders, a new company is being formed, a shareholder wants to sell their shares or pass them to their children, someone is nearing retirement, or the company has borrowed money from a shareholder. We can help to put you in touch with the right people to help.
GW & Co Ltd, offers Fresh Thinking, Friendly Advice for Your Business Success. If you’d like to talk about the issues raised in this article or any other accounting challenge facing your business, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
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