New ventures

Our experienced governance team provides support and advice to social enterprises to help them decide on the best legal structure for their new ventures.

If your social enterprise is looking at setting up a completely new venture or one that is linked with an existing organisation, it is imperative that you give careful consideration to its legal structure.

Whether the purpose of your new venture is for charitable purposes, a commercial business, to act as a co-operative or to achieve broad social aims, our experienced governance team can advise you on all aspects of new ventures and new legal structures.

At Anthony Collins Solicitors our specialist governance team use their extensive sector and legal knowledge and experience to guide you through the process of setting up your new venture and we ensure that your venture is set up with the legal structure that is best suited to its specific needs.

In addition to a new legal structure, your new venture will also need to consider governance, we work together with social enterprises to look at:

• Who the members or shareholders will be.
• Who will be on the board, and how they will be appointed.
• How different interests or groups will be protected.

Our services on new legal structures

At Anthony Collins Solicitors we work in close partnership with you, as a social enterprise, to understand the aims and goals of your new ventures, how you plan to achieve your goals and how you see the organisation developing.This understanding enables us to advise on the most suitable type of legal structure.

We have worked with a variety of clients in the social business sector to help them set up many kinds of structures, including:

• Commercial organisations, including limited companies, Limited Liability Partnerships, and PLCs.
• Social enterprises, including community interest companies and community,benefit societies.
• Charities, including charitable incorporated organisations and charitable companies limited by guarantee.
• Co-operatives and mutuals, including employee-owned organisations.

We can also help with more complex structures such as joint ventures or mergers. We have created complex vehicles for delivering community-led projects, co-operative initiatives and social businesses involving a wide range of partners and groups.  We can help you weigh up how best to balance those interests.