Our international team specialises in advising public and private companies (as well as individuals) on the design, implementation and operation of all employee share incentive plans and performance related remuneration. Our international practice is one of very few that covers the full spectrum of arrangements (for clients of all shapes and sizes) including the establishment of Long Term Incentive Plans for a company's key staff, 'all-employee' arrangements under local tax approved/qualified plans, value share arrangements, phantom plans and bespoke tax-efficient structures. As well as advising on the more 'traditional' forms of employee incentives, the team has been successful in identifying the need for, and pioneering, the use of new incentive structures such as joint-ownership arrangements.

In addition to legal and tax advice the team is able to support its clients with advice traditionally provided by remuneration consultants as we have extensive experience in advising on issues which are particularly relevant to listed companies. We create solutions which are specifically tailored to our clients' commercial requirements as well as advising on all technical and practical issues arising in respect of incentive arrangements, including prospectus requirements, financial services issues and data protection considerations.

We have wide-ranging experience in advising public and private companies on employee incentivisation issues arising in the context of all types of corporate transactions (which include acquisitions and disposals, TUPE transfers, joint ventures, MBOs, re-organisations and IPOs).

We also regularly assist multinational companies in launching and operating their share plans internationally.

Find out more about:

Enterprise Management Incentive Schemes ("EMIs")
Joint Ownership Awards ("JOAs")
Company Share Option Plans ("CSOPs")
Share Incentive Plans ("SIPs")
Disguised Remuneration and Employee Incentive Plans
Tax Efficient Employee Incentives - Value Shares 

Recent experience includes advising:

• NVIDIA Corporation, a world-leading technology company, in relation to the UK share incentives aspects of its acquisition of Icera, Inc for US$367 million;  
• The leading global television production company Shine Group on share incentives aspects of its sale to News Corporation
• Attenda Group Holdings Limited in relation to the incentives aspects of the management buy-out of Attenda Limited funded by Darwin Private Equity, structured as a section 110 liquidation
• The shareholders of goviral A/S, a distributor of branded video content across the internet, on share incentives aspects of the sale of goviral A/S to AOL Inc for up to $96.7 million
• HTC Corporation, one of the world's fastest growing companies in the mobile phones sector, on its global share award programme, including advising on all award documentation and employee communication materials for HTC's UK employees
• The shareholders of RDF Media Group, one of the largest independent television production and distribution companies in the UK and US, on the creation of a special class of shares in relation to the sale of the company to French based multimedia company, Zodiak Entertainment
• Providing a day-to-day advisory service for Imagination Technologies Group PLC in relation to the operation of its share incentive arrangements both in the UK and internationally