Succession Planning and Equity Structuring Series (Part 1): Bringing People In

Talk through your situation with us

Every partner arrangement is shaped by the business, its structure and the people involved. If you are considering bringing on a partner, or offering equity to a key member of your team, we can work through the commercial and tax questions with you before the legal work begins.

Book a consultation with our team.

Construction business owners bring another partner into the business for a range of reasons. Some owners are looking to scale and want someone working alongside them as the business grows. Some need to recognise the role a particular team member is already playing. Others want to use equity in the business to keep a key staff member for the long term.

This webinar, the first in our two-part series on succession and shareholding, worked through how a new partner is brought into a construction business and what owners need to have settled before the legal documents are drawn up.

What we covered

• We explained the mechanics of bringing in a partner, including how the buy-in is valued and funded, and whether new shares are issued or existing shares are transferred.
• We worked through the commercial and tax treatment of a partner arrangement, covering what a new partner means for the business commercially and how the buy-in is treated for tax.
• We showed how to set up the business structure so a new partner can be brought in without the structure having to be rebuilt first, and what a change in control means for your Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) licence.
• We set out which parts of the work your accountant handles and which your lawyer handles, and why settling the commercial and tax questions first means the legal work takes less time.

Continue with Part 2 of the series

Part 2 of the series follows on from bringing a partner in and works through a change in ownership from the other direction: two partners separating, the business passing to the next generation or to key staff, or the owner selling the business.

Go to Part 2: Breaking up, handing over and selling up

Succession planning checklist

Our team has put together a checklist drawn from Part 2 of the series. The checklist sets out the commercial, tax and structural questions we work through with owners before a change in ownership, so owners can see which questions need answering well before a partner leaves or the business changes hands.

Download the succession planning checklist