Founders & Shares
Read This First
Shareholders' Agreement Pack (UK) | The Contract Studio
✓Who this pack is for
This template pack is designed for straightforward founder teams:
- •Simple UK private limited company
- •2–4 individual founders
- •One class of ordinary shares
- •No institutional investors, no live shareholder dispute
✗Who this pack is NOT for
You need bespoke advice – not a template – if any of these apply:
- •Existing or imminent investors (VCs, funds, sophisticated angels with their own term sheet)
- •Multiple share classes, EMI options, more than 4 shareholders
- •Any shareholder is a company, trust or nominee
- •Live disputes, complex tax planning, cross-border elements
In those cases, you need a bespoke shareholders' agreement and cross-option drafted around the specific deal.
1Start with the quick quiz
Before you edit any documents, take the 30-second fit-checker on the Founders & Shares page at:
thecontractstudiouk.com/products/founders-shares
The quiz will tell you whether you're a good fit for the template, borderline (template could work but consider a solicitor review), or not a template case (you need bespoke advice).
!Why the cross-option matters
What happens to the shares if a founder dies or becomes seriously ill?
Without a cross-option agreement, shares pass under the founder's will. That can leave you co-owning the business with a spouse or adult children who don't work in it – and no clear way to buy them out.
With a cross-option plus life insurance: the surviving founders keep control, and the family receives a funded buy-out instead of an awkward minority stake they can't use.
⚖When to stop and speak to a solicitor
Rule of thumb: anything outside the simple founder scenario described above is beyond template territory.
"If the quiz or your situation suggests you're beyond template territory, you should instruct a solicitor, not keep tweaking a template."
Speak to your own solicitor in the first instance. If you don't already have one, you can reach out to our friends at Bonsai Law for bespoke advice – there's no obligation, but they deal with this kind of founder/shareholder work every day.
www.bonsai.law
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