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Posts Tagged ‘owner managed business’

Lawrence Stephens hosts An Audience with Karen Millen

Posted on: July 14th, 2025 by Natasha Cox

Directors Stephen Messias, Nickhil Mandora and Alexa Kordowicz were delighted to host An Audience with Karen Millen OBE in partnership with the Foundxrs Club, a private membership club for founders and entrepreneurs.

Karen is well-known for her sophisticated, tailored womenswear and the brand grew into an iconic name in British fashion with a presence in over 65 countries. Karen exited her business following its sale to Icelandic bank Kaupthing.

Head of Retail and Hospitality sector Nickhil Mandora introduced the firm to members followed by Karen who shared her inspiring journey from founding a small boutique in Kent with just £100 to building a globally recognised fashion brand valued at over £120 million.

Karen’s thought-provoking story was a powerful example of entrepreneurial vision, resilience, and strategic growth.  She relayed the challenges of building a global fashion empire, navigating the complexities of business ownership and exit, which resonated with the audience of fast-growing entrepreneurial businesses.

For more information on our Retail and Hospitality services, please click here.

How To Structure Your Business Like A Socialist

Posted on: June 27th, 2025 by Alanah Lenten

With the UK’s biggest socialist festival (Marxism 2025: A festival of socialist ideas) fast approaching this July, there’s something in the air: a reimagining of how power, profit, and people can coexist.

It got us thinking…

What would it look like to structure a business on socialist principles, without giving up the entrepreneurial spirit that fuels start-ups and scale-ups?

We put our lawyers through a thought experiment: how would you build a business that shares success, supports workers, and still grows fast?

Turns out, you don’t need to throw out capitalism entirely to build a company rooted in fairness. The UK tax system, perhaps surprisingly, offers smart, practical ways for business owners to share the rewards of growth with the people who help build it, without sacrificing financial success.

Here’s how to structure your business with socialist values and make the system work for your team, not just for you.

From Startup to Shared Success

The early days of running a business are tough, ‘cash is king’, and conserving it is critical. One creative way to extend your runway? Share equity with the people who are helping you grow. Giving shares in a new company to the people who work for it can save the company hard earned cash, leaving more of the venture capital funds available to grow and develop the business. 

Issuing shares to key team members early on not only reduces your wage bill, it also aligns their interests with your interests as founding owner. Better still, if your business succeeds, those early shares can turn into a meaningful reward for your team.  Having shares in a business is not as secure as being rewarded with a salary and there is even a risk that the value of the shares may fall – and the tax system recognises this risk, taxing capital gains more lightly than income. Although the worker may be taxed on the value of the shares they receive if you bring them into the business before the business has started to grow, the value of the shares should be low.  Any increase in value will then generally be taxed as a capital gain – giving a lower rate of tax than earnings. 

For those who join later in the game, when your company already has value, growth shares may be more appealing.  These only have value if the company grows, allowing people to benefit from the growth in the business to which they have contributed – with the benefit that they reduce any tax charge when the shares are issued. 

The key is to plan early. Don’t wait until your company’s value has risen; that’s when the tax charges get trickier.

Options That Support the Collective

As your business grows, you can offer share options rather than immediate shares. These let employees buy shares later at a set price – usually the current value – meaning that if the company succeeds and the shares go up in value, the worker can buy them at a discount, but if they go down, the worker doesn’t lose out.

To make this even more effective there are option schemes that allow the benefit of the lower capital gains tax rates when the shares are sold:

  • Use EMI (Enterprise Management Incentives) for maximum tax efficiency, these are tailored for small, fast-growing businesses.
  • Or try CSOP (Company Share Option Plans) which are still tax-advantaged and great for rewarding key team members.

Both schemes are designed for strategic flexibility so you can choose who benefits.

Want Everyone In? Go Egalitarian

There are also schemes designed for all employees, not just a chosen few:

  • SAYE (Save As You Earn) lets workers save monthly and buy shares at a discount after 3 or 5 years.
  • SIPs (Share Incentive Plans) let you gift shares or match employees’ own investments with bonus shares, all in a tax-efficient wrapper.

These can create a culture of collective ownership and long-term thinking, where everyone has skin in the game.

If You Really Want to Go Full Co-op

A business owner can allow workers in the business to acquire shares and have an involvement in the profits of the business – but what about the owner who wants to retire or sell up and hand over the business to the workers?  Well, if you’re inspired by John Lewis, Arup or Mott MacDonald, and you’re thinking long-term legacy, Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) might be for you.

Selling your business to your employees via an EOT can:

  • Allow you to sell tax-free (as long as the trust acquires at least 50% of the business).
  • Unlock tax-free bonuses (up to £3,600 a year) for employees going forward.

As a final bonus for the workers who were given EMI Options, they should be able to exercise their options and receive shares (EMI Shares) at a discount.  Even though they will have received the EMI Shares as a benefit of their employment, any gain they make on selling them should be subject to the lower tax rates that apply to capital gains (as against income).

It’s an elegant succession plan for founders who want to retire and leave something meaningful behind for the people who helped them create and grow their business.

Leaving a Legacy: Social Values Beyond the Business

For founders thinking long-term- beyond even their active role in the business- there’s another layer to consider: charitable giving through Wills. Allocating a portion of your estate to causes that align with your values allows you to extend your impact well beyond your lifetime. Not only can this support causes close to your heart, it can also reduce the tax burden on your estate, allowing you to give more both to your beneficiaries and to charity.

Whether you want to leave a specific bequest or dedicate a percentage of your estate to charity, these actions reflect the same values of social responsibility and shared benefit that underpin everything from employee ownership to ethical investing.

Sharing Success Isn’t Just Socialist –  It’s Smart

Founders often fear that “giving away” equity weakens their position. But what if sharing actually strengthens your business?

Workers who own a piece of the company are more motivated, more loyal, and more invested, quite literally, in its success. With the right structure, you’re not handing over control. You’re building a team of mini-founders who want the business to win. 

And yes, it’s possible to do this without bleeding cash, losing your edge, or drowning in tax bills. The UK system, for all its quirks, supports smart, inclusive entrepreneurship.

The Bottom Line

You don’t have to be waving a red flag at a rally to structure your business like a socialist. But if you care about people, equity, and purpose – and you want to build a business that reflects those values – there are real, tangible tools at your disposal.

So this July, while the crowds at the socialist festival debate the future of work and ownership, ask yourself: what kind of business do I want to build?

Because with the right strategy, you don’t have to choose between profit and people. You can have both.  Letting your workers have shares may leave you with a smaller percentage of the equity – but the business is so much larger that everyone wins.

If you’d like to explore how this could work in your business- whether you’re raising funding, building a team, planning your exit or shaping your legacy – do get in touch. At Lawrence Stephens, we’re here to help founders build businesses that reflect who they are, and what they believe in.

Read the other articles in this edition here : The Fineprint – Edition 1 – July 2025 – Lawrence Stephens

Why Founder-Led Businesses Are Reshaping the UK Economy

Posted on: June 27th, 2025 by Alanah Lenten

The FEBE Growth 100 2025 list is out, and it’s every bit as inspiring as we hoped. Packed with the UK’s fastest-growing, founder-led businesses, this year’s line-up is a celebration of bold ambition, fresh thinking and real entrepreneurial grit.

At Lawrence Stephens, we couldn’t be prouder to be part of the FEBE story. As a founder-led law firm ourselves, we know exactly what it takes to build something from the ground up. It’s messy, energising, terrifying and brilliant all at once. That’s why the FEBE Growth 100 resonates with us, it’s a badge of honour for those who’ve pushed boundaries and made things happen.

What Is FEBE and Why It’s Transforming the UK Founder Community?

If you haven’t come across FEBE yet (For Entrepreneurs, By Entrepreneurs) it’s the brainchild of John Maffioli, Ex-EY and the most enthusiastic man you’ll ever meet; and his wife and co-founder Charlotte Quince. FEBE exists to celebrate and support founders, not just in business, but in all the behind-the-scenes moments that come with growing something meaningful.

John often describes a FEBE event like being ‘A night out with your mates’. FEBE is built on community, honesty and camaraderie.  It’s about learning from the highs and the not-so-pretty lows.

Lawrence Stephens x FEBE: A Shared Vision for Supporting UK Founders

So why does our relationship with FEBE work so well? Because we get it. We’re also founder-led. We’ve lived the long days, the hard choices, the growing pains. And just like the businesses in the Growth 100, we’ve worked hard to scale up without losing our identity. In fact, if we weren’t a partner, rumour has it, we might have made the list!

Many of our clients are privately owned, founder-led businesses too, so we have a natural empathy for the pressures and possibilities that come with that territory. Whether it’s legal support on a new funding round, navigating a tricky people issue, or just being a sounding board, we back founders with the same drive and energy we see in ourselves.

Like FEBE’s ethos we pride ourselves on celebrating progress, embracing imperfection and connecting founders.

Turning the Spotlight on John Maffioli

Usually the one asking the questions, we recently flipped the script on FEBE founder John Maffioli who let us ask him a few.

Alanah: What inspired you to start FEBE?

John: We wanted to create the UK’s best founders club – a place where Britain’s top founders could come together, support one another, and build genuine friendships. Being a founder can be incredibly hard and lonely. FEBE was born out of shared experience. We knew there were so many brilliant founders across the country doing amazing things, but often in isolation. So we set out to build something that not only celebrates them but also helps them by creating a community where they can connect, share, and grow together. It’s not just about business, it’s about building real relationships with people who get it. That’s what inspired us, and that’s what keeps driving us: creating a space that’s meaningful, supportive, and rooted in the realness of entrepreneurship.

Alanah: What’s the hardest part of being an entrepreneur?

John: It is impossible to switch off. When you’re growing a business it is everything and all consuming.

Even if you’re supposed to be spending time with family, or trying to sleep, there’s a constant mental to-do list ticking away, and it’s impossible to create real separation between work and life. It’s not just about long hours; it’s the emotional investment. As a founder you carry the weight of every decision, every setback, and every missed opportunity. Even when things are going well, there’s always the next challenge to think about. The pressure to keep everything moving means you rarely give yourself permission to properly rest. And when your identity is so tied to the business, switching off can feel almost irresponsible – even though you know it’s exactly what’s needed sometimes!

Alanah: What’s your favourite part of being an entrepreneur?

John: The highs are unlike anything else. The good news and the successes are incredible and mean so much because it’s so personal. When something goes well it hits differently because you know exactly what went into getting there. The late nights, the risks, the doubts – all of that makes the successes feel so much more meaningful. There’s no safety net, so when it works, it’s not just business success, it’s personal. Those moments of progress or recognition feel huge. They remind you why you started in the first place.

Thanks John! Spoken like a true entrepreneur  and a reminder of why FEBE matters so much.

What’s next for UK founder-led businesses? 

Founder-led businesses are doing more than just scaling, they’re redefining what success looks like in the UK economy. The calibre of companies featured in the FEBE Growth 100 2025 list speaks volumes: these are businesses that are disrupting sectors and building brands with purpose and agility. From tech innovators and e-commerce disruptors to creative powerhouses and wellness challengers, these founders are not only growing fast, they’re leading with vision, values, and a deep connection to their customers and teams. It’s this blend of emotional commitment and commercial clarity that’s fuelling a new wave of economic dynamism across the UK.

At Lawrence Stephens, we’re proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with FEBE and the incredible community it champions. As a founder-led law firm, we understand the grit and graft it takes to build something from the ground up – and we see that same spirit reflected in our clients every day. Our partnership with FEBE is about more than just sponsorship; it’s a shared ethos. Together, we’re backing founders with the support, insight and authenticity they need to thrive and we’re excited to play a part in shaping a future economy powered by people who genuinely get it.

If you’d like to find out how else we are supporting founders please get in touch with Alanah Lenten.

Read the other articles in this edition here : The Fineprint – Edition 1 – July 2025 – Lawrence Stephens

Thinking of Selling Your Business? Why the Exit Isn’t Always the Fairytale Ending – And What You Can Do About It

Posted on: June 27th, 2025 by Alanah Lenten

Founders often fantasise about their exit moment. The final deal. The payout. The celebratory glass of champagne. But for many, that long-anticipated milestone can feel more like shouting, “I’m an owner – get me out of here!” than stepping into happily ever after.

At Lawrence Stephens, we’ve worked with enough founders to know that for them, this  moment is rarely as clean or triumphant as we make it look on paper. The due diligence process alone can feel like a mental obstacle course, one where founders are asked to revisit every decision, every contract, every risk, while simultaneously letting go of the business they’ve poured their soul into.

And it’s not just the paperwork that makes selling-up challenging, there’s a deeply human side to it that often goes unspoken. We spoke with Lucy Scarlett, founder and coach at Lumini, who specialises in helping entrepreneurs prepare emotionally and mentally for what comes next. She shared insights into the 3 most common feelings her clients experience and how they can navigate them.

The Invisible Side of the Exit

1. Loss of identity
“This business has been my baby.”
We hear it all the time. Your company has been more than just your job – it’s been your title, your purpose, your structure, your story. So what happens when it’s no longer yours? Without that title to define you, the age-old question “Who am I now?” can creep in, bringing emptiness, anxiety and the dread of facing that void again.

2. Survivor’s guilt
Once the deal is done, it’s natural to worry about the people left behind.
“Did I abandon my team?” or “Are they really okay under new leadership?”
These kinds of thoughts are more common than you might think. Lucy explains that some founders even find themselves quietly checking in long after they’ve left, leading to sleepless nights or a temptation to micromanage post-exit.

3. The exit that isn’t quite the dream
Even the smoothest sales come with unexpected twists: tax surprises, legal constraints, new leadership culture clashes. The version of the exit you told yourself in your head doesn’t always match reality. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t the right move but it does mean you may need space to process and recalibrate.

So, How Can Founders Prepare?

Lucy’s advice to clients is simple but powerful: You are not your business.
It’s a mindset shift that can take months to accept. After all, when your daily purpose, income and impact are all wrapped up in something you created from scratch, it’s hard to imagine life without it. But the earlier you start to separate who you are from what you’ve built, the smoother your exit will feel.

That means:

  • Getting clear on your values and what truly drives you.
  • Giving yourself permission to grieve the business (yes, really).
  • Planning your post-exit chapter with as much energy and vision as you did your first pitch deck.

She recommends creating a clear transition checklist of everything you can control to remind you you’ve set the business up for success, and remind yourself that part of building something great is knowing when to step away.

Whether your next step is launching something new, stepping into advisory work or simply taking a well-earned pause, it’s important to remember: you get to choose the shape of your next chapter and that’s where Lucy can support.

What We See That Works

At Lawrence Stephens, we’re big believers in the full exit picture. We’re here to handle the legal details, the negotiation curveballs, and the structural finesse that gets deals over the line. But more than that, we’re human. We know how big this is for you.

We’ve helped founders manage complex exits, protect what they’ve built, and move on with clarity and confidence. We’ll support you through the parts you dread and make sure the deal reflects your value.

A Final Thought

If you’re thinking of selling, or even just entertaining the idea, take a moment to reflect. Not just on your share price or growth curve – but on you. How do you want to feel once it’s done? What do you need in place, practically and emotionally, to make that happen?

Selling a business isn’t just a transaction. It’s a transformation. And with the right people by your side, it can be a powerful one.

If you want to find clarity on what your next step looks like, feel free to drop Lucy an email at Lucy@luminicoaching.com— or if you’d like support navigating the legal process, contact Charlotte Hamilton. 

Read the other articles in this edition here : The Fineprint – Edition 1 – July 2025 – Lawrence Stephens