When running a business, there might come a time when you need to make some changes with your company. Even if your company doesn’t have a dedicated lawyer, certain transactions require some legal assistance.
Of course, the more experience you have in running a business and managing documents, the more confident you are in dealing with certain decisions in your company. Nevertheless, some transactions are very specific and involve different legal processes depending on where your company is registered. In that case, it is best to get legal services for business to make changes in your company correctly. That way, you wouldn’t have to deal with any legal disputes or problems in the future. Be aware that the business register must always be notified of any changes you make with your company.
Some of the examples of the legal services for business
Based on our years of experience and serving thousands of clients, we have seen that as the business grows, there might be a need to carry out various changes with your company. Such as transfer shares to shareholders or business partners, merge two or more companies, change business information in the registry, or change the legal form of the company.
As your business grows, you might want to include business partners. There are many options to do so, such as transfer the company shares. While it is a rather complicated procedure, it’s best to involve professional legal aid to carry out the process.
Also, as your company gains more trust and loyal clients, it becomes crucial to protect your brand with a trade mark. Depending on whether you are active in one or multiple countries, you can choose to get a trade mark in one country, in the EU, or internationally. Protecting your brand, such as the company’s name, slogan or logo with a trade mark helps to own your brand and keep away potential harm from your competitors who might want to bring a similar product to the market with a similar name, or logo.
Entrepreneurs all know that business is not always easy. Everybody starts with high hopes and expectations, but things might not always turn out the way we wish. So, as time passes and your business is not taking off or you have other life changes, the best options might be to to sell or liquidate the company. Leaving a company unattended is not great for the owner’s reputation if he/she wishes to start another company in the future, and it might also result in penalties from the government for the company.
What is the process of buying legal services for business?
Legal services might sound like something complicated, but in reality, the process is more straightforward than you might expect. After all, our purpose as legal service provider is to make things as easy as possible for you.
All you need to do is contact us and explain your situation. If you are unsure of some details, we can offer you legal advice to find you the best possible solution based on your needs. The price offer includes legal advice, drafting and submitting all the necessary legal documents, and paying the state fees to make sure your company will be in good standing. We will also take care of the communication between the government institutions, the notary, and you, if necessary. Of course, we will let you know how the process is going, whether we need any extra information and when the changes are in effect.
Legal services for business in different countries
The difference in legal services for business from country to country is something that needs emphasizing. Each country has its own rules and regulations for specific legal transactions with your company. It is crucial to follow all the local laws when drafting legal documents and not miss any deadlines. Be aware that if you sell your Estonian company shares in another country based on their rules, the transaction is not valid in Estonia that has different rules and regulations. It is always best to buy legal services for your business from a company that thoroughly knows the market where the company is registered and can offer you trustworthy advice and service.
As 1Office focuses on selling legal services for businesses in four countries, we would like to give a brief overview of the most often bought services in Estonia, Finland, Sweden, and the UK.
Estonia
Share sale
The share transfer is for the entrepreneurs who have decided to change the structure of their company by adding a new shareholder. It is also meant for the shareholders who have decided to step back from the business activities of their company. The share transfer is a complicated process where certain procedures have to be followed to comply with the law and make a legitimate transaction.
Our share sale service includes all the necessary documents and procedures required by the state for transferring your company’s shares in Estonia.
In Estonia, it has been made convenient for entrepreneurs to sell the shares of their company. For e-residents, the transaction can be done remotely with our help at the notary. We will book a notary appointment and give the client full instructions for the share sale.
If the client is a non-resident, we will represent them at a notary’s office with a power of attorney (POA) and other necessary documents. We will keep our clients updated during the entire process.
If the beneficial owner changes, we will also consult you on the process and organise the notification for the Estonian Business Register.
Changes in the register
The service is for all the entrepreneurs who have reached a point where some changes have to be made in their company. These changes may include the change of the company’s name, address, board members, etc. You must notify the Estonian Business Register of all the changes that your company may have.
We will draft all the necessary documents and follow the procedures to change details about your company. The most common changes with the company include changes with the board members, company’s name, address, contact person, contact info, financial year, articles of association, share capital, the start of liquidation, and many more.
Merger, division, and restructuring
Merging your companies or merging your company with your personal assets may come up for entrepreneurs who have multiple companies that don’t serve their purpose anymore, and it would be the best option to merge them into one company. Merging a company with your personal assets is for entrepreneurs who don’t see the purpose of having a company anymore and would like to close a company faster than liquidation proceedings would take.
Division, on the other hand, will come up for entrepreneurs whose company has business activities in multiple fields and who would like to divide their company into multiple companies.
A necessity for restructuring your company from a private limited company to a public limited company may arise when your business grows, and you want to expand your activities.
All the structural changes that your company may have also need notification in the Estonian Business Register. The most common structural changes that your company include a merger of multiple companies, a merger of an Estonian company with an EU company, merger of the company with assets of the private person, division of the company, and transformation of the company from one legal form to another.
The service includes all the necessary documents for the restructure and booking of a notary’s appointment. We will also take care of the communication with the authorities and make sure that all the necessary changes will be done in the Estonian Business Register.
Finland
Share sale
The share sale service includes all the documents and procedures for a share transfer of your company in Finland. We will make sure that the company complies with all the requirements of the state. We will also consult you if a beneficial owner changes and submit a notification to the Trade Register.
Changes in the register
Most of the changes made for your company have to be notified to the Finnish Trade Register, and many decisions have to be confirmed by the minutes of the general meeting. The main changes that your company might want to modify include changes in the company’s board, business name, area of activity, location, articles of association, representation right, liquidation, auditor, and many more.
In some cases, the changes only have to be confirmed in the minutes of the board meeting. Examples of these kinds of changes include opening a bank account and registering signatories or representatives (in case the board doesn’t change).
Sweden
Changes in the register
As is the case in the previous countries, several changes to your company have to be updated in the Swedish commercial register. The most common changes you might have with your Swedish company include changing members of the board, company’s name, address, auditor, business activities, etc.
We will help you through the whole process to make legitimate changes to your company. In addition to that, we can register beneficial owners of your company, offer you a legal address in the center of Stockholm, help you to liquidate your company, and offer many more services. Contact us to ask for more information and a personal offer.
United Kingdom
Share transfer
The share transfer service includes all the necessary documents and procedures for a share transfer of your company in the UK. For example, share certificate, stock transfer form,and register of members. We will make sure that the company complies with all the requirements.
Changes in the Companies House
Several changes made with your limited company have to be notified about to the Companies House. The most common changes with your UK company might include changing directors, directors’ service addresses, company’s address, and business name. After submitting the changes to the Companies House via e-filing, the changes will be applied only in 1 business day.
Company’s registers
It is mandatory for every company in the UK to keep company’s registers available in the official office of the company. The registers include the register of members, the register of directors, the register of director’s residential addresses, and the register of people with significant control.
The service includes drafting the necessary registers and keeping them available at our UK office.
Employment packages
The employment packages include drafting a minimum of mandatory documents for hiring either an employee or a director in the UK company. The necessary documents are an employment contract or director’s service agreement, an anti-corruption and bribery policy, and an anti-facilitation of tax evasion policy.
We will also register the workplace pension with NEST and the payroll scheme with HMRC.
In addition to the above, we can offer a monthly payroll service.
In case you have any questions about legal services, please contact us. We are happy to advise you on finding the legal service your company needs.
