Owner Managed Businesses

YOU ARE the managing director of an expanding high-tech business that is scouting for acquisitions. Or you're the owner-manager of a medium-sized concern that is drawing acquisitive glances.

Your business antennae are finely-tuned. But what sort of minefields may lie ahead as you consider buying, selling or raising funds? Chances are, you need legal guidance.

"The last thing they need is woolly legal advice," Tim Jackman, senior corporate lawyer at Bond Pearce, says.

"We cut to the chase and drive the transaction through, whether we're dealing with a guy who runs his own business or a company that's keen to grow."

Bond Pearce's corporate team prides itself on a brisk, no-nonsense style that has attracted an increasingly broad portfolio of clients, from laundries to waste management, IT companies to agri-business.

"We've built a good reputation acting for a cross-section of owner-managed business in the UK," Tim says. "They range from mergers and acquisitions work acting for owners of businesses who are buying other businesses, or advising owners who are selling theirs.

"But we also have large corporate clients - some from the US - who instruct us as they expand their high-tech business through acquisitions."

One key to dealing with owner-managed businesses, Tim says, is enthusiasm.

"We're utterly dependable. Our partners are likely to be closely involved in deals.

"And we do this partly because it's fun. Clients like having us on board and we pass the acid test - accountants, bankers and venture capitalists endorse our service."

Bond Pearce corporate law experts are equally skilled helping to float companies on the AIM, or restructuring large companies and groups.

One typical deal involved an IT company and the issue of a £299m bond on the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange.

Some clients instruct Bond Pearce for a once-in-a-lifetime deal. Others will regularly seek the team's advice.

"Across the board, some extremely strong relationships develop," Tim says.