Building a UK start up: key legal documents, registrations and licences

We are often asked, “which legal documents and issues should early stage UK ventures think about and in which order to get ready for a VC financing?” There is no easy answer to that question since there are so many interweaving strands of corporate, tax, employment, commercial contract and privacy law and regulation.  And the answer will differ wildly between different types of ventures undertaking different business activities. Elsewhere on the internet, you can find checklists of varying degrees of quality and usefulness.  Here though instead a diagram from the HLaw Art Dept. showing a typical series of events running from left to right across the X-axis from pre-incorporation to the first fundraise, and up and down the Y-axis there are references to those types of law and regulation involved.  Populated within are those documents that early stage UK ventures should prudently be thinking about putting in place and which investors on the funding round might be looking back at in their due diligence and via the warranties to be given to them at closing. Click on the image to expand.  Have fun!

All the thoughts and commentary that HLaw publishes on this website, including those set out above, are subject to the terms and conditions of use of this website.  None of the above constitutes legal advice and is not to be relied upon.  Much of the above will no doubt fall out of date and conflict with future law and practice one day.  None of the above should be relied upon.  Always seek your own independent professional advice.

Humphreys Law