Disputes between shareholders of a private company are commonplace and they may arise for many reasons such as a difference of opinion over the direction of the company or how the business should be managed.
Companies often have unresolved longstanding issues that inevitably result in a dispute, leaving shareholders with the only option of taking legal action in order to protect their interests.
Traditionally, the most common shareholder disputes arise: when the majority shareholder is blocked by minority shareholders from implementing a particular course of action or when a minority shareholder is being pressured by a majority to accept things they do not agree with. There are also particular difficulties for those companies where the shareholders have reached a deadlock and there is no shareholders agreement in place regulating the deadlock resolution.
Each dispute between shareholders is unique and therefore obtaining proper legal advice is a must as it is crucial to understand what you can and cannot do and what options the other shareholders may have to stop you doing what you wish. Our dispute resolution team has considerable experience of a wide range of shareholder disputes and has won numerous cases at trial, as well as settling cases through negotiation and mediation. We work with clients to select the best strategy to resolve their shareholder dispute while preserving their commercial interests. Where appropriate, we deploy interim applications in order to freeze the assets or to appoint an interim receiver or any other available interlocutory remedy, to secure the best results for our clients.