Employee Share
Ownership Specialists
We are an English law firm specialising in employee ownership and employee share schemes, including share option schemes, share incentive plans (SIPs), long term incentive plans (LTIPs) and all forms of employee share ownership.
To find out more, select the category that best describes you:
Testimonials
-
Postlethwaite has repeatedly proved itself as a high quality boutique providing UK share scheme advice"
David Whitefield, Nice Systems
-
Very efficient, quick and of high quality, with competitive and transparent charging"
John O’Grady, Ramsay Health Care
- “We've begun our own journey to #employeeownership. My blog tells the story so far t.co/RW4jk14LT4”
About Postlethwaite
Postlethwaite is an independent employee-owned firm of UK solicitors focusing on employee ownership, and employee share schemes including share option schemes, direct employee share ownership and long term incentive plans (LTIPs).
Employee share ownership comes in many forms. Employee share schemes can incentivise your key employees through a selective employee share scheme, or an all-employee share ownership scheme can offer everyone benefits. You can manage ownership succession through a sale to your employees (employee ownership of a majority of your company). As experienced employee ownership lawyers we help you find the right model of employee share ownership for your company’s needs and guide you through the legal implementation of your chosen employee share scheme.
The Postlethwaite team is experienced in delivering employee share ownership and incentive schemes for private and listed companies. This includes advice on transitions to 100% or majority employee ownership. Specialists in share scheme taxation and legal issues relating to mergers, acquisitions, restructuring and flotations, we work with clients to create employee trusts, ESOPs and employee share schemes including EMI share option schemes; company share option plans (CSOPs); non-approved employee share option schemes, long term incentive plans (LTIPs); SAYE option schemes; share incentive plans (SIPS); UK stock option plans and stock purchase plans for US companies.
We explain how to choose which employee share scheme works best for you: A selective employee share scheme? All-employee share ownership? Or transition to majority employee ownership? If you favour a selective employee share scheme, we might begin by looking at what is an EMI option scheme and how does it compare with alternatives? If you prefer all-employee share ownership, we might consider with you what is a SIP, how will that work for you, and how does this compare with other possible forms of all-employee share scheme. If you move to majority employee ownership, what is involved? Postlethwaite advisers take you through the benefits of each type of employee share ownership scheme and help you pick the right employee share scheme for your business.
Postlethwaite is ranked among "Leaders in their Field" for Employee Share Schemes and Benefits in Chambers 2013 and as a leading firm for Employee Share Schemes in Legal 500 2012.
Find out more about us >Latest from the blog
8th May 2013
On 6 April 2013 we became Postlethwaite Solicitors Limited, a key first step on the road to us becoming one of the first employee-owned law firms in the UK.
We are committed to involving as many of our team in our ownership as law firm regulation will allow. At the moment, the rules make it relatively straightforward for each of our lawyers to become shareholders, but we'd have to change our structure to include our non-lawyers. We aren't going to run before we can walk, so we will start with involving our lawyers in the ownership.
Why are we doing this,...
28th Jan 2013
Last week the Office for Tax Simplication (OTS) published its final report on changes to the legislation affecting unapproved share schemes.
For any employee or director of a private company, the single biggest factor likely to take the varnish off being in an unapproved share scheme is that, unless they are paying for them in full, they will have to pay tax when they acquire their shares. An employee exercising an unapproved option or simply being given shares or allowed to buy them at a discount will have to pay income tax, but won't be in a position to...
