giving away part of company

[bell]

Obviously will have to get a solicitor involved at some stage but would like some general knowledge on giving away part of a company. I'd like to give a share in the company and ultimately a directorship to a friend in exchange for her working on the sales side...as an incentive instead of or as well as commisson. The company is in profit, fairly young but I am going abroad soon and wont be able to remain as a director (being self employed in France is TOO complicated) think i can remain as a shareholder and declare any income on my French tax return but this is something I have to check. Work is in the 'creative agency' vein. Moving is not the only reason...I HATE telesales and the friend in question does not...she's worked at a very high level and would be an assett. Money is not the be all and end all to me...peace of mind and having enough to live on is...I would rather half my income than conduct any more telesales!
Post uni I remember getting job offers where shares were offered as incentives so it can't be that unusual. Does anyone know if such an arrangement is something that could be structured to fit into a small business and has anyone done it?

[DuaneJackson]

Why do you need to give away any of the company?

You can still own it 100% and give her a salary + commisions.

[WakingDragon]

I think you need to speak to an accountant to deal with the tax issue. Preferably one who knows the rules in France or wherever you are going to live.

Giving away part ownership is pretty common and quite effective for getting decent people involved. What is they say in Dragon's Den? 50% of a great thing is better than 100% of nothing.

What you need to bear in mind is the difference between share ownership and directorship. How you balance that will depend upon your specific requirements, but I assume you will want to retain quite a few shares to keep getting profits. Giving up the directorship is only worth doing if you are confident that the remaining/new directors are going to continue to grow the business that you hold shares in.

[bell]

Thanks for your replies. sadly, when I move to France, due to laws there, I can't maintain directorship of a UK company and work for it (at least not without very high costs and lots of hassle) while I'm living in France. I would have to set up a French Office of the UK company and the social contributions associated with this are huge and not appropriate for a business run part time.