Our highly experienced staff offer independent advice to shareholders and firms at all stages of the corporate lifecycle, from acquisitions and capital raising through disposals and liquidity events.

The team also advises clients on their direct investments and will introduce, structure, and monitor direct investments into private companies on their behalf.

We advise families, individuals, businesses, and entrepreneurs on corporate financing. A key measure of our success is the value we help create for clients and their businesses, rather than the size or number of transactions on which we advise.

This approach has earned us a reputation for offering bespoke, considered and objective guidance.. Whether you are looking for help with a specific transaction or a business relationship over the longer term.

Many of our clients value our ability to commit to long-term partnerships in order to increase shareholder value. Others recognise our meticulous approach in the execution of individual transactions.

Similarly, some clients simply require expert guidance, whilst others require their advisers to take more of a principal role in the process.

Family Business Advisory

Many factors must be considered before passing on a business to the next generation. These include the commercial risks and prospects, the competence and willingness of family members to take over the responsibility, the need to balance financial and non-financial factors and the desire to divide the wealth fairly.

It necessitates a detailed plan, starting with the purpose of continuing family ownership, the role of the family in management, suitable processes and criteria for decision-making and safeguards to protect the interests of minority shareholders.

Alternatively, if the decision is to aim for a full or partial sale of the business (rather than passing it to the next generation), this also requires careful planning, both in preparation of the sale and its transformational impact on the family.

Issues regarding revenues of the sale, whether they should be divided to family members or held and managed collectively also need to be handled. If the latter, the purposes of collective arrangement need to be defined, with suitable structures and family governance.

Stonehage Fleming helps families plan the successful transfer of the family business to the next generation and will help to put in place a strategic governance framework, which will meet the needs of the family for the longer term.

Our approach depends on the circumstances, but it may involve the family developing a shared vision and objectives. In many cases, this result in a written family agreement, often referred to as a family constitution.

Many family businesses reach a stage at which they require external capital either to finance expansion or to reduce the family’s exposure, enabling them to diversify part of their wealth into other assets. Bringing in an outside investor has huge implications for a family owned company, inevitably forcing the family to adapt to new requirements and expectations.

We support families in defining the need, in searching for the right investor and in negotiating the transaction. We also help manage the transition from being a wholly owned family business to a company with responsibilities to external investors.

The decision to sell any business requires extensive analysis, good judgment and careful planning. For a family business, it can also be further complicated by family dynamics. After a decision has been made, both the business and the family need to be prepared for the sale, identifying key objectives for family members and positioning the business to achieve those objectives.

Stonehage Fleming is able to assist in facilitating the initial decision, through to the planning, structuring and execution of the deal itself. We will also help manage the impact on the family and will advise on the management of family wealth post the sale.