Our expert team has experience of assisting businesses from start-up through to incorporation, expansion, first tier funding and ultimately to assisting in the chosen exit route. The team has seen significant growth in its client base ranging from SMEs to international clients with UK commercial interests. We aim to provide our business clients with strategic commercial advice to enable them to consider and manage their legal and commercial risks.
Before we undertake work for you, our team will aim to fully understand your business and its objectives and will go beyond providing the legal documentation. We want to assist in the successful development and growth of your business, manage risk and safeguard key components of your business. We work to meet your time-scales and provide pro-active advice to help you drive your business forward.
The team is recognised locally as being one of the leaders in the field and over the past five years has seen a significant increase in the number of transactions handled.
Our services include:
- Buying and selling businesses including management buy outs
- Corporate restructure, reorganisations and mergers
- Venture Capital, Angel Investor, crowd-funding and other funding sources
- Banking and finance agreements
- Partnerships
- Shareholder agreements, share buy-backs and option
- Bespoke supply agreements for products, services and digital content
- Distribution and agency agreements
- IT and software agreements
- E-Commerce and E-Marketplace terms and agreements
- Intellectual Property protection and licence agreements
- Data protection and privacy law
- Media, publishing and entertainment contracts
- Consultancy and sub-contractors agreements
- Distribution and agency agreements
- Insolvency & Corporate Recovery
- Franchising
Sell My Business
Selling your business can be long, complex and stressful, especially if your business isn’t ready for the legal process. Leathes Prior have developed a simple and easy-to-use tool, powered by AI, to help you identify the areas of your business that may need some attention and assess how ready your business is for sale. Click here to find out more:
Commercial Disputes
If you have a commercial dispute, our team is able to deal with a full range of matters including commercial contracts, commercial litigation, patents, copyright and intellectual property infringement, passing off, breach of confidence, Injunction proceedings, representative and multi-party actions, construction disputes, defamation and trade libel.
To discuss a commercial dispute, contact Mike Barlow.
Reported deals:
Leathes Prior advises Canham Consulting on becoming Employee-Owned
Leathes Prior advise on the sale of the Greensleeves Group
Leathes Prior advise advise shareholders of Tiger Eye Consulting Limited on sale to CTS Group
Leathes Prior assist shareholders of Rent4sure in sale to PIB Group
Leathes Prior act on acquisition of multi-award winning publication, The New European, from Archant
Advised on the merger of Stellar Global Ltd and Mash Staffing Holdings Limited.
The sale of Salix River & Wetland Services.
Advise Angling Direct plc on £5.5 million fund raise
Advise owners of Chells Instruments Ltd in sale to SDI Group
Assist in sale of Broads Tours
Assisted on management buyout of Greensleeves Lawn Care.
Assist Angling Direct buy out Erics Angling Centre
Advising Almary Green on its merger with Smith & Pinching Group
Advising on sale of Jack Richards & Son Limited
Advising on sale to management of Mayday Office Equipment Services Limited
Advising Angling Direct Plc on its AIM floatation
what our clients say
We have looked at different succession options for some time. The most important thing for Canham Consulting is that the culture and values we work so hard at, continue to develop. The only way we could be sure of this, was to transition to an Employee-Owned business, and form an EOT. The EOT process requires true collaboration, and transparency. It was essential for us, that we surrounded ourselves with practical, pragmatic, and truly understanding legal support. Alex Saunders and Jack Horwitz have guided us through the EOT process and been an integral part of the team. Their knowledge and collaborative approach have made the process enjoyable for everyone. I cannot praise or recommend Leathes Prior high enough. Thank you for your support.
After a lifetime running businesses, and building YTKO Group to 100+ people and £7m turnover, I thought carefully about various exit and succession options for some time. Establishing an Employee Ownership Trust was the best way to ensure that our values endured for the next 40 years and that our dedicated team would be able to reap the rewards of their hard work, commitment, loyalty, and passion. Choosing the right professional advisors to help us through the process was essential. Alex, Nina, and the Corporate team were outstanding, not just in terms of the legal due process, but in how they supported us - swift and practical replies, often out of hours, great availability by phone/teams, a super attitude, and a real team push to get us over the line when we encountered a last-minute obstacle. They really felt like an integral part of our senior team. I would absolutely recommend them without reservation.
When that once in a lifetime opportunity knocks, its essential to get it right. We did our groundwork, and on recommendation, we chose Leathes Prior. They did the job, above and beyond. If we had to do it all again I’d chose them, and we would recommend them to anyone with a business to sell. Our team (Alex Saunders, Jack Horwitz and Milan Pandit) was the ‘A’ Team (‘A’ for advice, ability, accuracy, approach, and attitude). In my view, its essential to have the right people, have the full set of expertise on hand, and rely on their expertise to get you through the tough bits. Now we are all going to the races to celebrate!
Sam consistently goes out of his way to understand the unique needs of our company. His commitment to comprehending not only our business but also our legal requirements is truly exceptional. This personalised approach, combined with his vast knowledge of the legal landscape sets him apart as a legal professional of the highest caliber... I wholeheartedly recommend Sam Poulter of Leathes Prior for his exceptional legal service. He is an invaluable asset to any individual or company seeking legal counsel.
I am not sure where we would be without the Corporate Team at Leathes Prior Solicitors! The team are firmly embedded within the company – supporting us at every stage – having a positive impact on the business in areas I never thought Corporate Lawyers could affect.
Thanks to Alex for stewarding this deal so professionally and speedily. We couldn’t have got there without him and LP!
From start to finish Paul and Nina were in complete control of our affairs offering nothing short of perfection in communication to complete the acquisition of my company
I am delighted with the service provided by the team at Leathes Prior led by Alex. The legal advice was delivered at a practical level, helping me understand fully the process and implications at each step of the way. Really big thank you to Alex, Sam and the team in helping me through the acquisition process.
Over the years that we have been working with Alex and the team at Leathes Prior, they have built up an in-depth understanding of how we do business and what is important to us as people. This was absolutely critical for us as we navigated through the process of being acquired and we truly felt they had our backs all the way. We developed great personal relationships with many of their team, which we hope will continue into the future. Thank you Alex and Team.
I found Jack to be very professional and very polite. All work was completed in time with no delays. Overall, I was impressed with the services provided by Leathes Prior Solicitors. Thank you.
Been working with Leathes Prior for years. I highly rate their team for professionalism and attentiveness. Jack Horwitz is a superstar!
I just wanted to write to say a massive thank you for all your support throughout this process. It’s never an easy process but I can definitely say that this deal was far easier than when I acquired the other business back in February this year. I really appreciated your succinct and commercial advice, taking a lot of decisions away from me and only focussing me on the bigger commercial and legal issues. It’s been a pleasure to work with you and once again Leathes Prior have been brilliant for me.
Since employing the services of Leathes Prior some 15 years ago to handle the MBO on mine and my colleagues behalf the service provided has been second to none. Whether it be advice regarding employment law, commercial & corporate matters on every occasion the professionalism has been exemplary as well as being very approachable and with a ‘never too much trouble’ attitude. I would without any hesitation whatsoever recommend Leathes Prior.
I found Richard and Nina to always strike that perfect balance of taking care of my position and being practical and commercial at the same time; advising me on which issues really were worth fighting for and which ones really did not matter. They were always timely and responsive, and their proposed weekly zoom call with the buyer and their solicitors, meant that issues that arose got quickly resolved. It was a complex transaction which completed spot on time with no last minute hitches or dramas.
Alex, Jack and the team at Leathes Prior were extremely professional, efficient and supportive throughout the whole sale process. They went the extra mile to ensure that the shareholders fully understood the process, legal implications and the associated risks and worked tirelessly to ensure that the deal went through as smoothly as possible.
Just a quick email to say how pleased we have been with the quality of service that Alex Saunders and Jack Horwitz have provided in selling our business. They have at all times been efficient, professional and courteous, providing us with a top class service.
I really do feel like the team at Leathes Prior would be able to help in any situation. They understand the time pressures of companies and provide no-nonsense commercial advice.
I am extremely grateful to Nina Ryan and Leathes Prior Solicitors for their legal advice and guidance during the sale of my shareholding in a private company. Thanks to them the terms of the sale were successfully negotiated, the legal work efficiently executed and a timely completion achieved. I am very satisfied with the outcome.
I wanted to drop you a line to say what a fantastic job Nina did on our recent business sale. She worked tirelessly throughout often working out of hours to complete on a deal which had its ups and downs along the way. This is the second deal Nina has worked on for us and interestingly on the first deal we did with her the buyers were so impressed that they are using her on a deal of their own! A very nice lady who goes the extra mile to get the deals done!
This excellent Norwich practice is commended by clients for its pragmatic, innovative and cost-effective service. The group acts primarily for private limited companies on middle-tier M&A transactions across a range of sectors.
An excellent team handling a range of M&A, MBOs and other corporate matters, including advisory work concerning EIS investment matters. Offers increasing international capabilities and expertise in handling sales involving overseas companies. Very knowledgeable and they're nice to deal with.
The Corporate Team has been recognised for its experience in a range of areas including M&A, MBOs and group reorganisations. They are commercial, practical, and they deal with things promptly.
They are commercial, practical and they deal with things promptly.
Straightforward, helpful and commercial, considerable corporate and commercial experience and particular expertise in the private healthcare, packaging and print industries.
Excellent team handling a range of M&A transactions across the region. Growth within the team enables the practice to provide a full service to clients both locally and nationally from its single Norwich base.