Selling Your Business? A Legal MOT

After being with Allington Hughes for over 40 years, from his training in 1971, through qualifying as a solicitor in 1975 and becoming a Partner in 1978, David Parry has seen it all when it comes to business.

David has taken the time to produce a Legal MOT detailing some of the common pitfalls when selling a business, and we dearly hope they are of use.:

"I deal with a lot of business sales during the course of the year and it’s well worth looking at some basic matters well before anything of this nature comes along as it can be very stressful to have to deal with basic legal and accountancy matters when so much else is happening at the same time.

1. The most important tip is “check your lease” - if your business operates from these premises only and the lease has only a short time to run, or has actually expired, the business is effectively unsaleable until this has been sorted out and you could then be looking vulnerable to a landlord who becomes aware of your intention to sell. I have had to renegotiate leases several times this year and, at the best, there is a significant delay in dealing with the sale transaction, and it clearly could be a lot worse.

2. "See your accountant” - don’t just deal with him/her at arm’s length each year about the accounts, arrange a meeting to discuss all aspects of your business, coupled with the suggestion that you might be considering a sale: there have been fundamental changes to the capital allowances rules which came into effect in April 2012 and, whilst these primarily relate to purchasers, you should be sure to get the best possible guidance from your accountant on all aspects of your business.

3. Still on the tax aspects, take a deep breath and “visit the HMRC website”: every time I go on to this, I am astonished at the quality of the information they give you – suggestions, model calculations and authoritative guidance. A lot of people think it will be impossible to understand, but the reverse is the case, and it could be really helpful, as well as profitable for your business, to get familiar with this massive site. It might also make your meeting with the accountant really beneficial to the bottom line of your accounts!

4. “Contact your lawyer at an early stage” - a brief initial chat will help enormously, so that preparatory work can be put in place, and it won’t trigger an enormous bill. I get a lot of matters where people think there is a saving to be made by leaving the legal work until the very last minute – I promise you this is not the best thing to do as it is always more expensive to have to drop everything else to service something which might have been dealt with in a more realistic time frame. It is also really worrying and stressful from the lawyer’s point of view – nobody likes having to rush things.

5. “Don’t go on holiday!” - I’ve actually had several transactions where the client gave me

instructions on a complex matter which would inevitably involve a lot of contact with them about the sale and then, at the end, mentioned that he was just leaving on holiday the next day – definitely not a good idea! Go away when it’s all over.

I hope these are of some practical help – best of luck with your business in the meantime!"

If you would like any further information on Business related matters, or anything else, then please feel free to get in touch with us on 09178 291000 for Wrexham, 01244 312166 for Chester or 01492 641222 for Llanrwst.

David Parry has been a partner at Allington Hughes since 1978.

D2R Foundation - Athlete Update

As you may have seen a few months ago, Allington Hughes have got involved with a fantastic new project supporting a sports foundation created by our Olympic Sailing hopeful Chris Russell.

The Allington Hughes Grant helps a group of young athletes who are on the verge of becoming international stars, yet receive no support from their respective sporting bodies. This is where the D2R foundation has come into play by providing a strong network of  services and personnel to help further develop the athletes' career. 

Here is how the athletes have been getting on over the last few months!

Benajmin Wempe (Sailing):  After one of the most successful summer periods, which saw him claim a Bronze medal at the Laser Youth World Championships, Benjamin has refocused his effort on his first year of University in Holland.  He aims to combine study with his campaign, with the next main regatta being the Dutch National Championship later this moth.

Xavi Tous (Sailing):  Xavi continues to train hard behind the scenes and is looking to peak for the forthcoming Europa Cup events in October.

Dewi Couvert (Sailing):  Similar to Benjamin, Dewi began her degree in Medicine in late August with the intention of balancing her sport and studies.  With the World Championships scheduled for home dutch waters next year, her eyes are set firmly on a prize.

Sarah Grace Spencer (Lacrosse):  Sarah Grace began pre-season training with the Welsh team earlier this month and is now back to regular winter practice ahead of what promises to be a great year or her.  Qualification for a spot on the World Cup team is up for grabs.

Jade Paveley (Motorsport):  Is preparing for the next stage in her seasons rally campaign - preparation has been going well and she continues to attract great attention from the world of Motorsport.

We are very proud to be supporting these young athletes, and we look forward to bringing further updates and competition results in the very near future.

The D2R Athletes during a team building exercise in North Wales during their recent week long training camp.

Ras Fawr Llanddoged 2014

This year Allington Hughes Ltd t/a Cyfraith JRL Law sponsored the annual 12.5km Ras Fawr Llanddoged on Sunday 7th September.

The race is performed along one of the most scenic courses in Wales as its challenging route follows the rural lanes above the village of Llanddoged near Llanrwst in the Conwy Valley.

Whilst this year’s race was slightly down on the quantity of its runners, the quality of the runners and the times more than made up for this with all the top 3 runners postings times which would have won 8 of the last 15 events. 

First to finish was Prestatyn RC runner Dean Longley whose time of 44 minutes 25 seconds was the second fastest time ever (beaten only by ex GB International runner, and 6 time Snowdon Race winner, Andi Jones). Second to finish was Brendan Rothery (45m45s-PB) who had won the race three times previously and who finished just over a minute ahead of local resident, and first over 40, John Ford (46m48s-PB). 

The first lady to finish was Abbie Cheetham, also of Prestatyn RC, who knocked a fantastic 13 and a half minutes off her time the previous year to finish in 57minutes 57 seconds. Second lady to finish was Emma Collins (60m1s), with Gemma Brown (62m20s) third. 

Other category prizes went to Darren Blazier, Kevin Slattery, Tony Hill and Kay Hatton. The Bob Owen Memorial team prize went to the Abergele Harriers, the Arfon Jones Memorial Prize for the first member of the North Wales Road Runners club to finish went to John Ford and the prize for the first unattached local runner went to Tomos Smith. 

We were delighted to be involved with a great local event together with our friends at Spar Llanrwst who very kindly provided water and sports drinks to keep the participants going.

Allington Hughes t/a Cyfraith JRL Law were delighted to be able to support the Ras Fawr LLanddoged in 2014.

Hydropower as an Enterprise; Time to go Green?

Renewable Energy projects are fast approaching tourism as the main source of diversification income on UK farms. Hydropower is of particular interest to farmers in Wales, especially since the introduction of Feed-In Tariffs (FIT’s).

FIT’s allow individuals to invest in small-scale low-carbon electricity, in return for a guaranteed payment from an electricity supplier of their choice for the electricity they generate and use as well as a guaranteed payment for unused surplus electricity they export back to the grid.

As attractive as this may seem, it is important that the correct level of research is undertaken at the outset before committing to any Renewable Energy project.

Although the thought of having to spend a considerable amount of money at such an early stage in the process may be off-putting, failure to do so could prove to be very costly in the future.  

Some of the points that need to be considered are as follows:  

1. Is my land suitable? 

1. Is there sufficient water flow in both winter and summer?
2. Is there sufficient fall in the water flow across the land?
3. Are connections to the grid available at an affordable cost?
4. Will it be possible to obtain a water abstraction licence and impoundment consent?
5. Will planning permission be granted?
6. Is access to enable construction going to be a problem? 

2. The experience of the engineers and contractors (i.e. track record). References should be obtained from individuals who have dealt with the engineers and contractors you propose to instruct?

3. Creditworthiness of the parties involved. Many companies are formed and dissolved overnight. This has left many individuals out of pocket as often large up-front payments are required before the construction process can proceed?  

4. The availability and timing of any finance involved?

5. Lease arrangements for the land if you are a Tenant?

6. Ownership of the watercourse e.g. does the land on the other side of the stream belong to someone else?

The above points are only a brief outline of the issues that need to be considered. Provided that the correct investigations are undertaken at the outset, Renewable Energy Projects can and do offer a great opportunity for those who wish to diversify to increase farm profits and reduce environmental impact.  

We can offer specialist advice on any legal issues you may have in connection with Hydro, Wind and Solar Energy Enterprises.

For more information on this or any other Agricultural matter please contact Edward H.Nutting Director at Allington Hughes Limited t/a Cyfraith JRL Law on: 01492 641 222 or email edward@jrl-law.co.uk

Ed Nutting is a director of Allington Hughes Ltd based in the Llanrwst office.

Force 300 - Dramatic Weather Results in Change of Course for Sailing World Record Attempt

Allington Hughes' sponsored professional sailor and Olympic hopeful Chris Russell has set a new World Record for ‘the longest single handed, non-stop distance sailed by a male, unassisted in a dinghy’.

Chris set out to break the overall existing World Record (set by female sailor Tania Callas at 282 nautical miles), but extreme wind and waves resulted in an initial change of course, miles lost and eventually it was deemed too dangerous for Chris to stay on the water any longer.

Chris made the difficult decision to abort the attempt at 20:45 on Wednesday 20 August 2014, having spent over 16 hours on the water and sailed over 100 nautical miles. This effort still set a new world record for ‘the longest single handed, non-stop distance sailed by a male, unassisted in a dinghy’, which is now awaiting verification from Guinness. This was Chris’ first ever World Record attempt and despite having fallen short of his initial goal, he aims to try for the overall record again within the next six months.

Chris had intended to sail from Porth Eirias, Colwyn Bay, across the Irish channel to the shoreline near Dublin port and back again. However the weather dictated Chris’ journey stayed in and around the Colwyn Bay and North Wales coastline. Chris’ attempt was closely monitored by a land-based crew and he was followed by a support team and an independent adjudicator in a rib at all times.

Chris Russell commented, “I'm exhausted, but extremely satisfied with the performance myself and everyone else in the team put in over the last 30 hours.

“We started out in near perfect conditions, but within one hour of setting off we were unexpectedly hit by a really bad patch of weather and my average speed dropped significantly. By the halfway point [approximately 15 hours into the attempt] I knew that achieving the goal of 300 nautical miles would have taken me beyond the safety time limit I'd set for the challenge. However, I was determined to log as many miles as I could before the wind died at sunset.

“I'm confident that I've been able to set at least one new World Record over the last 24hours and I'm very proud of the results from this challenge. It was a great learning experience and it is without a shadow of a doubt that I'll try again to break the 300 nautical mile barrier in the very near future! I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone around me for continuing to support me, and help make challenges like this a reality."

Everyone at Allington Hughes would like to congratulate Chris on a truly heroic effort, and we look forward to supporting him even more in his goal to hit that 300 mile World Record.

Chris Russell ready to take off from Porth Eirias on his World Record attempt