In our first episode of The HLaw Pod, Partner and Head of Tax, Annette Beresford, discusses her recent Insight article on founder equity with co-author and HLaw Senior Consultant, Jeremy Glover.

Flat and down rounds can take the wind out of a founder's sails: the dilution suffered may well affect levels of enthusiasm needed to further grow the business. Even a modest up round may not leave the founders with the percentage shareholdings that were anticipated at this stage of the company's development, and with further dilution to come on future funding rounds.

But it is possible to rebalance the cap table in a way that investors might go for and yet navigate around the obvious tax issues.

In this episode, Annette and Jeremy discuss tax implications, principal issues to avoid including how to avoid the dreaded dry tax charge, and the possibilities of using a favourable type of option scheme for a founder.

Ep. 1: founder equity top ups

The HLaw PodBy Humphreys LawNov 08, 2022