Bryan Rickman

Bryan advises companies, shareholders, investors, directors and business owners on corporate transactions and governance, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity financing, corporate structuring, demergers, shareholder agreements, joint ventures, company secretarial, partnership and limited liability partnerships. 

• Advised the sellers of an energy and power company on their £7M sale of the business to a German-owned company, resolving complex earn-out and share consideration challenges to achieve a successful completion. 
• Advised the sellers of an advertising company on their £38M share sale, negotiating all sale documentation and commercial terms to complete the deal within the client’s budget and timescale. 
• Advised a media and communications company on the formation of their group and the simultaneous acquisition of three separate and distinct groups of companies, drafting and negotiating all banking and shareholder documentation. 
• Advised an international public relations and healthcare communications group on its £10.7M acquisition, drafting and negotiating all deal documentation, including complex consideration provisions. 
• Advised a commercial property investment company on its £7M fundraise from fourteen private investors through a mixture of equity and debt, drafting and negotiating all transaction documents and advising on FSMA compliance. 
• Advised on numerous corporate demergers by way of dividend in specie, reduction of capital and section 110 Insolvency Act schemes, managing multi-stage documentation and completions through a structured and systematic approach. 

Bryan also specialises in the design and implementation of tax advantaged EMI and CSOP share option schemes, non-tax advantaged schemes and growth share arrangements for participants, producing all scheme documentation, and related corporate and shareholder considerations in transactions and employee exits. 

• Advised a large care home provider on the design and implementation of its EMI scheme and non-tax advantaged scheme for consultants initially and then subsequently its CSOP scheme (once it ceased to be eligible for EMI), including complex and varied performance conditions for the numerous participants. 
• Advised a construction consultancy company on its EMI scheme over a new class of growth shares, including cash bonus arrangements for the employees to the extent their shares options have neither lapsed nor been exercised.  
• Advising various companies on their growth share schemes, where tax advantaged schemes were not available or required, including reverse vesting and clawback provisions. 
• Advising companies on the exercise of options in connection with the sale of those companies, drafting in cashless exercise mechanics to the share purchase agreement and drafting all exercise documents. 
• Advising companies and senior employees on the employees’ rights and entitlements following termination of employment and ensuring this was accurately recorded in the employees’ settlement agreements.