For Founders
Structuring for founders, from investment to sale.
Structuring before a sale, moving country as a founder, and the cross-border vehicles your buyer's lawyers will read on closing day.
Our view
The structure is best settled well before a sale.
The decisions that determine your effective tax position on a sale are made long before the buyer is identified: share class structure, residency, holding-vehicle jurisdiction, founder relief eligibility. We work with founders from pre-Series B through five years post-close. Some founder mandates are pre-sale projects, where typical timelines depend on the banks and registries involved; others are multi-year retainers running across the founder's holding company, family trust and post-sale family office.
What we solve for founders
Four questions we help you answer.
- 01
What is my position today?
Residency, share structure, founder reliefs available, CFC exposure on offshore companies, exit-tax exposure if moving. The diagnosis is set out in writing.
- 02
What changes if I sell in 12 months?
Modelled scenarios across base case, buyer-driven roll-over, earn-out structures and partial roll. Capital gains modelled under each scenario.
- 03
Where should the holding vehicle sit?
BVI, Cayman, UAE, Singapore, Cyprus: modelled against your existing residency and the most likely buyer's jurisdiction. Banking is considered before formation.
- 04
What about the family after the sale?
Trust and foundation structures, generational continuity, mobility for family members, family-office set-up when liquidity demands it.
Services
The services these clients use most
Each can be engaged on its own, or combined with others as one matter.
- Deal and exit structuringPre-sale planning for founders and shareholders ahead of a sale or other liquidity event.Typically 6 to 16+ weeksTypically 6 to 16+ weeks
- Company formationOnshore and offshore companies in the BVI, Cayman, the UAE, Singapore, the UK, Delaware and other jurisdictions, with substance documented and banking considered before formation.Typically 2 to 6+ weeksTypically 2 to 6+ weeks
- Trusts and foundationsDiscretionary, fixed-interest, purpose, and reserved-power trusts. Panama and Nevis foundations.Typically 3 to 8+ weeksTypically 3 to 8+ weeks
- International bankingIntroductions to 45+ private and corporate banks across the UK, EU, GCC, Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean and the US.Typically 3 to 10+ weeksTypically 3 to 10+ weeks
- Tax residency planningTax residency planning with the statutory criteria documented, for moves to the UAE, Monaco, the Cayman Islands and elsewhere.Typically 4 to 12+ weeksTypically 4 to 12+ weeks
- Family office advisorySingle- and multi-family office set-up, governance and operations across jurisdictions.Typically 8 to 20+ weeksTypically 8 to 20+ weeks
Where we work
Jurisdictions these clients use most often
We work with formation agents, banks and local counsel in each. We can look at others too.
Jurisdictions
Residence and citizenship
Minimum investments and timelines are indicative and set by each government.
Questions
Common questions
How early before a sale should we engage?
Do you work with sellers, buyers, or both?
We have UK BADR and US QSBS exposure. Can you model both?
Who we work with
Other clients we advise
Family offices
Fintech and payments
Professional advisers
Crypto and Web3
iGaming
Real estate
Yachts and aircraftNot listed here?Tell us about your matterWe do not give legal or tax advice in jurisdictions where we are not qualified to do so; where needed, we coordinate local counsel and tax advisers.
Citizenship and residence programmes are subject to government due diligence and approval. We do not guarantee approval.
Fees agreed in writing before work begins. Where a bank or provider pays us for an introduction, we tell you before the introduction is made.
See also what we will not do and prohibited and restricted matters.
Next step
Tell us about your matter.
A short application tells us what you need. We aim to reply within 48 hours. The first step is a diagnosis of where you stand today.