OUR SERVICES
Mergers and Acquisitions
Investment Rounds
SEIS and EIS Tax Reliefs
Shareholder Agreements and Articles of Association
Shareholder Disputes and Buyouts
Joint Ventures
Founder and Vesting Contracts
Share Option Schemes
Employee and Consultancy Agreements
Technology and Intellectual Property Contracts
Strategic Company Law Advice
Financial Services
Commercial Property
Last updated on September 16th, 2020 at 12:34 pm
Welcome to
‘The Jonathan Lea Network’
We are a firm of solicitors based in Haywards Heath, Mid-Sussex. We work with clients throughout the UK and around the world, adopting a tailored, pragmatic and clear approach to each matter we take on.
Put simply, through our work we aim to increase your profit, protection and free time. We only accept instructions on matters where we know we can add value and will always ensure that clients have the benefit of fee certainty, including a commitment to fixed fees where possible.
Structuring property ventures
Published 15 days ago
At its most basic level, property can be held either directly (by you as an individual, whether wholly or in partnership with another person(s)) or indirectly through a company or a discretionary trust. This note does not consider trust ownership of property or ownership through a self-invested personal pension (SIPP), but we can advise you on these areas if either is an option you would like to explore.
Incorporating a property rental business
Published 15 days ago
Over the last few years there have been a litany of changes to the UK tax rules around the taxation of residential property ownership for business purposes. Many of the changes have been such that those who previously operated “buy-to-let” businesses in their personal capacity (as a sole trader or through a partnership) will have considered whether it is more tax effective to incorporate their personally held businesses into a company structure.
Do the Government have the legal authority to enforce mask wearing?
Published 32 days ago
From the 24th of July 2020, the UK Government announced that in certain public places, face coverings would be mandatory. This decision has generated considerable debate. Social media platforms have been instrumental in placing blame for the spread of the virus on those who choose not to, or those who cannot, comply with recent measures. However, it can be said that this blame is misplaced. Not only is there a lack of scientific evidence to suggest that masks are effective, the Government have also enforced these measures without the law to support them.
How to manage both EMI and unapproved share options on a company sale/exit
Published 66 days ago
When your company goes under the due diligence spotlight, an aspect that will be under intense scrutiny will be any form of share options/awards scheme. It is imperative that your company has met the HMRC standards in relation to these schemes, so as not to delay or adversely impact the sale of the company. This is because if a problem has been found then the time taken to correct the error with HMRC will likely be greater than the time span of the sale and with the added detriment that there is unlikely to be a tax-efficient solution and you can find that your buyer wants to escrow sale proceeds or obtain specific indemnities to protect against any uncertain tax costs for the company.
COVID-19 Furlough Scheme Update
Published 70 days ago
The Government announced new rules starting from 1st July on what, why and how you can claim furlough pay under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for your staff. Below we have provided some useful information to consider when these new rules come in place and how they will affect the use of the scheme.