Control over a company

itayshap

Hello,

My question concerns control over a company with a majority of directors.

Assuming a buy to let company with 4 partners each has a 25% stake in the company.
Partner 1, 2 and 3 are directors in the company whereas partner 4 is not.
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If partner 1+2 join forces, do they have legal right to control the company ?
For example, can they decide who will be the solicitor of the company or which property management agency to hire without the permission of the other partners?

Do they have any control whatsoever ?

Thank you,
Itay

tacpot12

It depends on what the Company's Articles of Association say. You should be able to find a copy of the Articles of Association on the Companies House website. Use the link to "Get information about a company" and search for the name of the company. Click on the company name, and filter on the Incorporation category. This should show you the Articles of Association that the company was formed with. Any changes need to be voted on by the Shareholders (the Directors can't change them themselves), and the changed Articles need to be lodged with Companies House.

 If you need help to understand the Articles of Association, consult a solicitor or accountant with experience of company formation.

DullGreyGuy

Directors are responsible for the day to day running of a company

Shareholders (not partners) get to vote on certain things such as appointment of directors, directors remuneration, changes to the articles of association etc

The articles of association are the company rules and they may put more things into the domain of the shareholders, may say votes need to be over a certain percentage etc. This is the key document to read.

Typically you'd expect things like appointing a solicitor to be in the duties of a director rather than shareholders but it can be different.