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Shareholder Rights
Understand, assert and defend your rights as a shareholder with advice from specialist lawyers.
Navigate the complex area of shareholder rights
As a shareholder, you have a whole host of rights available to you. Understanding these rights — and how you can use them — is essential to shape the future of the company, achieve your commercial objectives and make good on your investment.
However, public awareness of even the most basic shareholder rights is sorely lacking. In practice, the full range of rights and entitlements that come with owning shares in a limited company are seldom optimised by shareholders.
That’s where we come in. Since the law in England and Wales makes it possible to attach (or remove) any number of different rights to shares, expert guidance is needed if you’re to navigate these arrangements successfully.
With experienced specialists in shareholder rights, we can outline your legal position as a shareholder in a private limited company and help you to navigate this complex area of law.
Here, you can find guidance on key areas from company structures and the rights of a shareholder to selling your shareholding, disputes and valuing shareholdings.
Specialist shareholder rights lawyers
Our team is led by Paul Lunt — a highly regarded and multi-award-winning commercial litigator with 30 years of experience in shareholder rights and disputes.
Recognised as recognised as one of The Lawyer Magazine’s 'Hot 100' Lawyers (2023) and appearing in The Legal 500’s Hall of Fame for commercial litigation, Paul’s practical and pragmatic approach helps to solve even the most sensitive, complex and high-profile shareholder rights issues quickly and successfully.
We help all types of shareholders to understand company structures and their rights, including how to sell a shareholding, handle disputes and value a shareholding.
We take the time to understand your unique circumstances, position and goals before identifying the core aspects of the rights you need to be aware of.
How we can help
Our experts can help you to understand and exert your rights as a shareholder and achieve your commercial goals.
We're experienced in dealing with selling shares in private limited companies. We can advise you on the best strategy to maximise your returns.
Our team has specialist litigation expertise and a successful track record when it comes to shareholder disputes.
Our team can ensure that your share valuations are as accurate as possible and help to choose the right valuer for your needs.
Find answers to our most frequently asked questions about shareholder rights and disputes from our expert litigation lawyers.
“Paul was recommended to me by a mutual acquaintance and I can honestly say it is the best introduction I have ever been given. He is an expert, extremely knowledgeable with the ability to communicate in a clear, concise and supportive manner. His website is a great source of information to anyone who is in a shareholder dispute. During my particular case, I spoke to and was assisted by a number of the large London law firms before having Paul recommended to me. None of these had the expertise or commercial awareness of Paul. I only wish I had known about him on day one.”
netConsult Ltd
“My business partners cheated on me. Two people I would have trusted with my life had cheated on me. It was all I could think of, from first thing in the morning to last thing at night. For month after stomach-churning month, I thought of nothing else. Then, I went to see Paul Lunt. Within weeks, it was settled to my utmost satisfaction. My stomach stopped churning. I could sleep again.”
Shareholder rights & disputes client
“Paul Lunt is an expert in the field of shareholder disputes. He advised both myself and part of my family in a very acrimonious dispute with compassion and thoughtfulness. Paul was always precise and accurate with his advice and took the time to explain to us all in simple terms what the implications of his advice would mean. A true gentleman in every way. As a person and a solicitor, I could not recommend him highly enough.”
Shareholder rights & disputes client
“My sisters and I would like to thank Paul Lunt and his team for the outstanding work in our long, protracted and stressful family business unfair prejudice shareholder dispute. Paul was superbly efficient and professional. We owe our success and victory to his dedication, perseverance and the wealth of experience which he continually demonstrated throughout the duration of our case. It was his steady guiding influence and advise that helped us all to arrive at a satisfactory result which was acceptable to all parties concerned.”
Shareholder rights & disputes client
“We cannot thank Paul Lunt enough. He worked tirelessly to help us through a complex shareholder dispute. His advice and no-nonsense approach to litigation helped us get a positive outcome to an issue which had been ongoing for several years. The way he carries out his work fills you with confidence in what can be difficult and stressful situations.”
Shareholder rights & disputes client
“Paul Lunt acted on our behalf in a complicated family company shareholder dispute. At times, it was very acrimonious — but it was always a stressful process to all concerned. Paul always acted supremely professionally but tempered that with a personal, reassuring manner in relaying both good and bad news. He guided us through a tough four-year long case and successfully brokered a righteous and successful settlement against a very tough and belligerent opponent.”
Shareholder rights & disputes client
“I would highly recommend Phil Weldon of Brabners for anyone needing expert legal support in dispute resolution. Phil recently helped me with a complex matter and I couldn’t be more impressed with the level of professionalism, dedication and clarity he brought to the situation. From the outset, Phil was attentive, thorough and clearly had a deep understanding of the legal issues involved… Thanks to Phil's strategic guidance and calm approach, we were able to resolve the dispute efficiently and with a positive outcome.”
Shareholder rights client
Complete list of shareholder rights
Get a list of the key rights and restrictions that apply at all levels of shareholding in private companies to safeguard your interests.
As a shareholder, the more aware that you are of your rights, the easier it is to protect your commercial interests.
It’s wise to familiarise yourself with the different rights and restrictions to safeguard your interests.
Here, Paul Lunt provides a list of the key rights and restrictions that apply at all levels of shareholding in private companies.
Latest insights
Do I have a claim? Five common shareholder disputes and how to resolve them
Here are five typical shareholder disputes examples to show you how things are typically resolved and understand when you might have a claim.
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Is it too late to complain? Find out how limitation works in relation to shareholder disputes and unfair prejudice.
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Votes and steps taken based on incorrectly recorded shareholding positions may well still be treated as valid by the courts.
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What are the main differences between audited and unaudited accounts? Specialist shareholder rights lawyer Paul Lunt explains.
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Failing to prevent fraud and other criminal offences for company directors under the Companies Act 2006
The Companies Act provides that a criminal offence is committed by directors should they fail to comply with a wide range of their obligations.
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Get a brief overview of the register of members, including who determines applications for entry, the legal requirements and rules around keeping the register open for inspection.
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Complete list of shareholder rights
What are your rights as a shareholder in a private limited company? It depends how many shares you own — here’s what applies at each level of shareholding.
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Shareholder rights and disputes FAQs
Find answers to our most frequently asked questions about shareholder rights and disputes from our expert litigation lawyers.
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