Joint Venture Agreements
Rely on our expert team of solicitors to strategically negotiate the terms of your joint venture agreement, advising on structure, IP, profit- sharing arrangements, and a smooth exit strategy.
Joint ventures can be extremely successful provided that the participants have agreed objectives, a strategy to achieve their goals, commitment, and a comprehensive joint venture agreement. Rely on our team to produce an agreement that covers all these scenarios and protects the interests of all parties involved.
Achieve your business goals with a water-tight joint venture agreement
Our team of joint venture agreement solicitors can support you with:
- Advice on the advantages and disadvantages of a joint venture agreement and your alternative options, whether that’s a collaboration agreement, partnership/LLP agreement, or special purpose vehicle (SPV company).
- Defining the parameters and heads of terms of the proposed joint venture.
- Advising on the legal structure for the joint venture from a limited liability company to a limited liability partnership to a contractual structure.
- Advice on cross-border ventures where tax and competition law issues need to be considered when deciding on the structure of the venture.
- Advice on the rights and contributions of each party to the joint venture agreement.
- The financing and profit-sharing arrangements.
- Intellectual property rights and confidentiality clauses to protect the work undertaken during the joint venture.
- Termination and exit provisions in the joint venture agreement.
- Dispute resolution if there is a dispute between the parties or with a third party.
What our clients say
We pride ourselves on delivering an excellent service for clients, but don’t just take our word for it.
They adopted a proactive approach to overcoming issues, and their knowledge of the sector and investors and preparedness to identify novel solutions has proved extremely beneficial.
We’ve been working with the team for over a year and since day one they've been pragmatic, diligent and above all, committed throughout. They work hard to add value and have been of great benefit to us and our investors.
Choosing Harper James was one of the best choices we made as a start-up. The firm has provided invaluable advice and insight throughout the early stages of our business.
For us, the support of Harper James Solicitors has been a gift. The collaboration we have had has been of tremendous importance. The service has been superb value for money.
Fundamentals of joint venture agreements
Working with you to understand your objectives, we will help you answer the following questions when drafting your joint venture agreement to ensure maximum commercial benefit from your business venture:
- Have the parties and objectives of the joint venture been clearly defined?
- What tax considerations and liability issues arise from the structure of the agreement?
- What due diligence has been undertaken? Will the joint venture agreement contain warranties by the parties relevant to the specific goals to be achieved in the joint venture?
- Has ownership of any intellectual property created by the joint venture been agreed and recorded? Who has the right to license the IP?
- Does the joint venture agreement contain suitable confidentiality clauses and penalties for breach of the agreement?
- Do the parties’ rights depend on the extent of their contributions to the joint venture? Does one party have a right to veto?
- How will the joint venture be funded? If the parties are making financial contributions how will their contributions and any profit sharing be calculated?
- What will the duration of the joint venture be? What are the provisions for exit or termination of the agreement?
- What will happen if things go wrong? Does the agreement contain dispute resolution provisions and remedies for breaches?
- Can the terms of the agreement be varied by the parties if they want to change the scope of the joint venture or make other material changes?
Why partner with a specialist joint venture solicitor?
A fair agreement for both parties |
With our extensive experience creating joint venture agreements across a range of sectors, we’ll always include the necessary provisions for each party’s aims to be met, helping you to achieve the common goal intended. We will objectively observe the contribution made by each party to ensure the agreement is fair and that all expectations are met.
Protect your interests and avoid litigation |
With an expertly produced joint venture agreement in place by our seasoned solicitors your remove the risk of any uncertainties arising or chances that you and the other party have misinterpreted prior conversations to the agreement being drawn up. With all obligations and liabilities professionally laid out, you protect your venture, your own personal interests and significantly reduce the risk of a dispute arising.
Ensure compliance as your business evolves |
Joint venture agreements can prove to be complex documents, potentially extending beyond the venture itself and into much finer details around compliance issues. It may need to cover off licence requirements, possible consultations with employees under TUPE, obtaining consent where data sharing is required, tax issues, and competition law to name a few. Our expert team will cover all the bases, ensuring that you remain compliant with all regulatory matters so you can concentrate on your growing business.
Protect valuable IP assets |
Where the development or use of intellectual property is integral to your joint venture, we’ll set out clear terms of ownership as part of the agreement. And if new IP assets are created as part of the collaboration then we’ll ensure that this is covered too, outlining terms of use at the beginning of the relationship, helping you avoid disputes at a later date.
Ensure a smooth exit |
Although you may be at the beginning stages of your joint venture, we’ll always include exit terms as part of your agreement, so that once the venture has run its course, each party can end the relationship with a clearly established route to exit, including ownership of technology, and details of rights to shares.
Who we help: Ambitious entrepreneurs and growing businesses
We aim to make legal services more accessible for ambitious entrepreneurs and start-ups, making sure that you get the legal support necessary to thrive. What does that mean in reality? Partner-level legal expertise at the fraction of the cost of a traditional law firm – with our subscription plans you could be paying as little as £99 per hour. With transparent pricing, a tailored approach to each client’s requirements, and a commercially minded team that swiftly gets to know your long-term objectives, you can rely on our partnership to help move your business forward.
Why choose Harper James Solicitors?
Our joint venture solicitors take a holistic approach to their legal advice providing a seamless service to ensure that your business has the associated corporate, tax, intellectual property, licensing, and business legal advice it needs to protect your interests in the joint venture. Our joint venture agreement solicitors have worked in either top 100 law firms or in-house at major international businesses, so they understand the importance of industry and project specific joint venture agreements to maximise the prospects of commercial success with a collaborative approach.
Find out more about our commercial solicitors here:
Pricing plans
Our three transparent pricing packages are designed to give you the widest possible access to high-quality legal advice, whatever the size and nature of your business:
City
Straightforward access to senior solicitors at a competitive rate.
An affordable solution for businesses needing one-off legal support. Receive ‘City’ partner-level expertise at a fraction of ‘City’ prices.
Enterprise
Have legal peace of mind for £189 per month with additional support from £99 per hour.
A monthly subscription legal support package specifically designed for start-ups and smaller businesses.
On-Demand
For businesses requiring 60+ hours of support a year, with prices equivalent to £99 per hour.
Fully account managed quarterly subscription service for businesses with more complex legal needs.
