Strategic business lifecycle expertise.
Helping businesses thrive from start-up to scale-up and beyond, we provide tailored advice across the full business lifecycle. Whatever the stage, our team delivers solutions that align with your ambitions. And that’s reassuring to know.
Corporate Law
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Corporate Law GuideEvery business is unique, and so is the journey it takes. At Swinburne Maddison, our Corporate team understands the entire business lifecycle, from the spark of a start-up idea to scaling operations through investment, acquisition, or organic growth. We take the time to dig into what you really need, not just what you think you want, delivering solutions that drive success at every stage.
Our strategy starts with the end in mind. From the moment you engage with us, we focus on defining what success looks like for you and implementing a no-nonsense plan to achieve it.
With 12 lawyers, including three partners recognised as leading professionals in the North East, our team is trusted to handle high-stakes matters. From mergers and acquisitions to corporate governance and finance, we’ve built a reputation as problem solvers who simplify complexity and guide you through opportunities and challenges alike.
We service clients across a wide array of sectors, including manufacturing, education, technology, hospitality, engineering, and transport, offering bespoke legal advice tailored to your industry. While based in Durham, our reach extends far beyond the North East, with experience in cross-border transactions and international matters.
Our accolades speak for themselves. Named as a Top-tier firm in The Legal 500 for eight consecutive years and are ranked in the top 10 for M&A work in the North East by Experian Market IQ, we have a proven track record of supporting clients with everything from business start-ups to joint ventures and partnerships.
At Swinburne Maddison, we’re not just here to advise; we’re here to be part of your journey. Whether you’re starting up, scaling up, or stepping into a new chapter, you’ll find trusted partners in our team.
We’re experts in our field.
“The team is down to earth, but very knowledgeable. They can communicate complex ideas to clients in a simple manner.”
The Legal 500 UK
Here to help your business thrive.
Whether you’re starting, growing, or evolving, we’re by your side with practical advice and strategic solutions.
Big deals demand big thinking. Whether you’re buying, selling or merging, we guide you through the entire M&A process, taking care of the detail so your transaction runs smoothly from start to finish. From due diligence and deal structuring to contract drafting, negotiations and regulatory compliance, we make sure nothing is missed.
We advise on all types of M&A transactions, including share sales, asset purchases, management buyouts and buy‑ins, and complex multi‑party deals. Whatever the structure, we understand how deals work in practice and how to keep them moving, even when issues arise.
Our approach is commercial, proactive and pragmatic. We anticipate risks before they become problems, negotiate firmly where it matters, and focus on protecting value at every stage of the transaction. Clear advice, straight talking and close collaboration are at the heart of how we work.
M&A is about more than completing a deal, it’s about securing the future of your business. That’s exactly what we help you do.
Management buyouts can be fast-moving, high-pressure and personal. Whether you’re part of the management team taking control, or an owner planning an exit, we make sure the deal is structured properly and delivered without unnecessary noise. We handle the key stages – due diligence, funding and security arrangements, warranties and indemnities, disclosure, and the share purchase documentation – keeping everything clear and joined up.
We’re proactive on the issues that can derail an MBO: decision-making, conflicts, timescales, stakeholder expectations and the realities of funding. We anticipate the risks early, negotiate firmly where it matters, and keep momentum right through to completion.
We’re here to help you take that step with as it’s more than just a transaction, it’s a change in direction.
PE and VC deals demand pace and precision. Whether you’re an investor or a fund manager backing a business, a founder taking seed investment or an established business completing one of a series of planned investment rounds, we help you get the deal done, and get it right. We support you through term sheets, due diligence, equity, debt and mezzanine structures, investment documentation and shareholder arrangements, making sure the legal detail matches the commercial deal.
We understand the pressure points, control, governance, exits, incentive plans and investor relations. We have extensive experience of acting for both target companies and investors meaning we are able to understand the process from all perspectives. We’ll negotiate hard where it matters, explain the implications in plain English, and keep the process moving to meet funding timetables.
Investment should unlock opportunities, not create ongoing headaches.
Insolvent transactions need calm heads and decisive action. Whether you’re acquiring assets from an insolvent business, selling under pressure, or restructuring to protect value, we help you move quickly while managing legal and commercial risk. We advise on the transaction structure, deal documentation, security and title issues, and the practical realities of completing against tight timelines.
We focus on the things that matter in distressed deals – clean ownership, limitation of liabilities, employee and TUPE considerations, consents and regulatory requirements, and reducing the chance of challenge after completion. We’ll work closely with insolvency practitioners and your wider adviser team to keep the process controlled.
When the stakes are high and time is tight, we help you make the right call and execute it properly.
High‑value transactions come with pressure, pace and no margin for error. We advise borrowers and lenders, from banks and businesses to private individuals, helping them navigate complex corporate finance deals with clarity and confidence.
Our experience includes multi‑million‑pound acquisitions, refinancing arrangements and sophisticated security packages. When it mattered most, we delivered, completing over £75m in CBILS transactions for Atom Bank during the pandemic, under intense time and regulatory pressure.
We also support angel investors and fund managers in securing funding, offering commercially focused advice that keeps deals moving and objectives on track. Whatever the structure or challenge, we’re ready to see the transaction through.
Well‑planned reorganisations start with tax considerations and succeed through careful execution. Whether you’re restructuring a group, extracting value, preparing for a sale or investment, or planning for succession, we help you reshape your business in a way that is commercially sound and tax‑efficient.
We advise on a wide range of corporate reorganisations, from simple intra‑group transfers to complex multi‑company restructures. Working closely with tax advisers, we help design and implement structures that minimise tax exposure, preserve reliefs and stand up to scrutiny. We handle the legal detail throughout, documentation, approvals, consents and implementation, so the reorganisation is delivered cleanly and effectively.
Reorganisations are rarely just technical exercises. They are strategic decisions that can have long‑term financial and tax consequences. We focus on making sure the structure works in practice, supports your wider objectives, and puts your business in the strongest possible position for what comes next.
Strong businesses are built on clear arrangements. Whether you’re starting a new venture, bringing in investment or formalising an existing relationship, we help put the right agreements in place from the outset.
We draft and negotiate shareholders’ agreements and partnership/LLP arrangements that deal with control, decision‑making, exits, disputes and future change. Our advice is practical and commercially focused, designed to protect your position while supporting long‑term growth.
When expectations are clear and risks are managed early, relationships work better. We help you get the foundations right.
Employee share schemes can be powerful tools for growth, retention and succession, when they’re structured properly. We advise businesses on setting up and implementing share incentive arrangements that align employee rewards with commercial objectives.
Working closely with tax advisers, we help design schemes that are clear, compliant and tax‑efficient, from EMI options and unapproved options to growth shares and bespoke arrangements. We take care of the documentation and explain the detail in plain English, so that the arrangements are fully compliant and everyone understands how the scheme works in practice.
Well‑designed incentives motivate the right people and protect the business. We help you strike the right balance.
Corporate compliance underpins every successful business. We provide ongoing company secretarial support to help companies stay compliant avoid unnecessary fines and penalties and ready for change.
From statutory filings and board resolutions to share issuances, restructures and corporate housekeeping, we make sure the legal formalities are handled accurately and on time. We take a proactive approach, helping you avoid issues before they arise.
Company secretarial work shouldn’t slow you down. We keep things running smoothly in the background, so you can focus on the business.
Business services
Your commercial interests protected with confidence.
We provide clear, strategic guidance to safeguard your commercial assets and keep your business moving forward.