Shares - I've no idea!

JJJ1985

Hello
My grandad invested some money in 3 companies.  He left the 'shares' to me when he died.  The companies are owned by his friends and they're being a little difficult, they don't like the idea of a 'stranger' owning a big chunk of their businesses, so I feel a bit lost.  And there's no paperwork!  If anyone could help with the following questions I'd really appreciate it:
I have emails confirming how much he invested.  How do I know what they're worth now?
How do I sell them?

Thanks

eskbanker

If they're private companies that aren't listed on recognised exchanges then they're only worth whatever someone is prepared to pay for them at any point in time.  Are the owners keen to buy them back?

eastmidsaver

as per what the above poster said,  it will only be worth what someone is prepared to pay.   
it might be best to seek advice to get an estimation of what the company could be worth though, as you don't want someone to make a cheeky bid based on your lack of knowledge and offer what may seem to be good, but is actually way below market value.
so you just need to get some sort of idea.

Albermarle

When you say a big chunk , what do you mean ?
If it was big enough , you could maybe appoint yourself as Chairman of the Board !

JJJ1985

Thanks all.  I know how much was paid for the shares but not knowing what the businesses and shares are worth I don't know what percentage I own.  Where could I sell them.  1 owner said the shares are worthless.  1 owner said his business would go under if he had to buy me out

eskbanker

JJJ1985 said:

Thanks all.  I know how much was paid for the shares but not knowing what the businesses and shares are worth I don't know what percentage I own.  Where could I sell them.  1 owner said the shares are worthless.  1 owner said his business would go under if he had to buy me out

You can only sell them if you can find someone to buy them, which, for small private companies, effectively means the owners or other significant directors, etc, although there could be other investors or shareholders.

As a shareholder you're entitled to details of the business's finances, but it might be better to research them anonymously via their filings at Companies House in the first instance....

El_Torro

I can’t add much of use on top of what others have said, just to say that I wouldn’t rely on getting much out of these investments. Especially since you don’t have much evidence (apart from some e-mails) of your part ownership of these businesses. At least one of the owners is agreeing that you do own some of it, but if selling means the business goes bust it won’t be of much benefit to you anyway. 

Agreed that it would be good for you to get some professional advice on what these shares are worth. Ultimately though you might need to accept whatever the owners are willing to give you to make you go away. Perhaps a long term payment plan would be of use to you and the owners.

eskbanker

JJJ1985 said:

1 owner said his business would go under if he had to buy me out

Just to pick up on that, it's not true as stated - he personally may not have enough money to buy you out, but the finances of the business itself aren't directly affected by a share sale from one person to another!

JJJ1985 said:

The companies are owned by his friends and they're being a little difficult, they don't like the idea of a 'stranger' owning a big chunk of their businesses...

Going back to this point too - if your ownership of a stake in these businesses is something they don't like, then to a certain extent the onus is on them to do something about it, so it may be better to hang fire and leave things as they are for now.  As above, it's probably best not to view these shares as being a valuable asset, but if you hang onto them then you might ultimately end up with something useful from at least one, if you can sit back and wait to see how it pans out.  If the businesses are fundamentally unprofitable then there isn't really anything to lose by holding onto the shares for now, but you could and should look into the finances if you want to independently verify what you're being told about the state of these companies....

kuratowski

It sounds to me like your granddad used his money to help out his friends.  By buying shares, there was no requirement for them to pay him back, unlike a loan.  But by bequeathing the shares to you, he has left his friends in an awkward position.  You could decide to gift the shares back to the friends, and solve the problem that way.

Or, you can hold onto them long term and see what happens - in time the businesses will probably be wound up, there probably won't be much though.  I really doubt you'll be able to sell them.

Sea_Shell

Would the OP have any financial liability if these businesses got into financial difficulty?

Albermarle

Sea_Shell said:

Would the OP have any financial liability if these businesses got into financial difficulty?

As the OP is not a Director , they would have no liability. They are just a shareholder .

One possibility that has not been mentioned is if the business was sold , the buyer may well want  to buy out all shareholders .
I suppose one difficulty with this is that it does not seem clear what % of each business the OP owns.