The Information Commissioner has served the first financial penalties for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). In the first case, Hertfordshire County Council was issued with a penalty of £100,000 for two serious incidents where Council employees…
A case involving a ‘multiple shares’ company, in which different classes of shares were created, with different rights and varying dividends paid to the shareholders over time, illustrates the baleful look that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) give to such…
All the positive publicity created about ‘time to pay’ agreements has increasingly been shown to be misplaced as new research shows that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are now leading the way in bringing insolvency proceedings. Recent research shows that…
Recently, well-known franchisor Kall Kwik UK Ltd. was in court after a new franchisee sued it because estimates provided by Kall Kwik for refitting costs turned out to be much lower than the actual figure – a difference of between…
A recent case shows that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will seek to apply legislation relating to settlements if it suspects tax avoidance by ‘income splitting’. The decision highlights the need to take advice where various classes of shares are…
This checklist highlights some of the major pitfalls that your business needs be aware of, and should avoid, during a contract negotiation. You should of course, always take legal advice if your business is negotiating a large or unusual contract…
It makes sense to have a partnership agreement (or a shareholders’ agreement if the business is a company) in place from day one. This will normally have a ‘drag-along’ clause, which requires the other shareholder(s) to sell their shares to…
With cost-cutting still a priority for many businesses, the prospect of changing suppliers for recurring services is often attractive as it may offer the scope to reduce costs. However, it is important when considering such switches to make sure that…
Administration is the procedure in which a company that is, or is likely to become, insolvent can be reorganised or have its assets sold for the benefit of creditors. When a company goes into administration, an insolvency practitioner takes over…
From 1 October 2010 all UK-registered companies have to have at least one ‘natural’ director. The exemption from this requirement for companies which were incorporated before 1 October 2008 and which had only corporate directors on 8 November 2006 ends…