Business succession
We begin advice on business succession with a thorough examination of the client’s business, legal and family situation. Then we factor in the client’s needs and intentions, i.e. whether there are persons among the client’s family or colleagues who will carry on the business, or the succession process should be pursued with the involvement of external entities.
This preliminary overview is the point of departure for a detailed legal and tax examination of the structure of business ventures undergoing succession. This analysis allows us to propose solutions reflecting the individual needs of the client and the business. In the succession projects we handle, we draw on both Polish and foreign legal and tax mechanisms (such as trusts and private foundations). With our practical knowledge on use of these mechanisms and extensive contacts with foreign advisers, we can tailor the appropriate solutions to suit the specific client’s situation. Sometimes we also resort to conciliatory solutions, such as mediation or joint development of a family constitution governing relationships for the future process of business succession.
We implement the approved succession plan with the involvement of the client and the successors. At this stage, when the succession involves outside investors, such as private equity funds, we look out for the interests of the client by representing the client in dealings with the investors.
The solutions we propose enable integration of the business succession plans with the client’s intentions for intergenerational transfer of the client’s private assets. This involves coordination of business succession plans with the client’s personal inheritance plans.