We specialise in corporate and commercial advisory for UK and international family offices and corporates, including SMEs, pre-IPO and listed companies.

We cover all aspects of UK corporate and commercial law, including fundraising, contractual issues, asset sales and purchases investment structuring, and a wide variety of business and commercial agreements. Our in-house lawyers – many of whom are qualified in more than one jurisdiction – are also perfectly placed to help with complex cross-border investments.

Regulatory frameworks provide crucial architecture to ensure ethical business practices, but can prove burdensome for smaller companies. We ensure full compliance for our clients, so they have one less thing to worry about.  

We also have unique expertise in the world of arts and entertainment, particularly the British TV and film industry.

Corporate Advisory

First Sentinel Advisory specialises in corporate and commercial law, as well as corporate finance law, for SMEs, pre-IPO and listed companies. Our offering includes:

  • Advising on fundraising and contractual issues
  • Bespoke offerings in international investment structuring
  • Asset sales and purchases
  • Business mergers
  • Corporate finance
  • Share purchases and sales
  • Architecting business and commercial agreements such as limited liability partnerships, company formations or joint ventures

Family and Multi-Family Offices

First Sentinel provides a full range of finance and legal advisory services to family offices. We can assist you every step of the way, including: setting up and structuring, ongoing legal services, providing you with potential suitable investment opportunities, structuring investment vehicles and assisting in philanthropic investment endeavours. We find that our approach coincides with that of many family offices, sharing the goal of building long-term value and developing relationships that last.

• A curated selection of unique investment opportunities, expertly tailored to your office’s needs
• We can manage every aspect of the transaction from a corporate finance and corporate advisory perspective
• We can offer consistent steady returns via debt financing as well as significant uplift through equity deals
• Fully FCA-regulated

Creative advisory services

We also have a unique focus on the arts and entertainment industry in the UK. We provide advice on creative contracts and film investment, and can also offer introductions to link exciting creative projects with like-minded investors where appropriate.

We have recently acted as legal advisors to the producers of the following films and documentaries:

• One Man And His Shoes
• Spitfire
• Armstrong

We have also acted for a variety of different companies across the creative sectors, from those who design and build sets for major TV programmes and live performances such as Britain’s Got Talent and the Brit Awards, to advising on the sale of ArtReview magazine.

Compliance

Large firms employ whole teams of compliance officers in order to ensure that government rules and regulations are obeyed to the letter – but for smaller companies, regulatory compliance can prove extremely complex and time-consuming. The consequences of falling short in this area can be severe. 

First Sentinel Corporate Finance works with our clients to make sense of the rules. When advising or arranging services in relation to mergers, acquisitions or debt/equity fundraising, we ensure full regulatory oversight and review for all of our transactions.

Company Secretarial Services

First Sentinel provides a registered office service, with a prime central London address and we can act as your company secretary. This highly important business function ensures that directors and the company comply with the relevant corporate legislation and includes:

  • Handling all Companies House filing requirements
  • Correspondence forwarding
  • Arranging director and shareholder meetings
  • Maintaining company registers
  • Organisational compliance checks

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