Southern Solar Shareholders Agree
22 October 2008
 Southern Solar was set up in 2002 by Howard Johns, who is passionate about the environment and was always interested in renewable energy. The company fits solar panels for domestic, commercial and public buildings looking to reduce their environmental impact.
When Johns brought in additional shareholders, the company was still in its infancy. The high cost of setting up a solar power company was squeezing budgets to their limits so the group were reluctant to bring in lawyers having been quoted over £1000 for drafting a shareholders agreement. Prospective shareholder Luke Hutchison suggested using ContractStore's "Shareholders Agreement for Three or More Parties", but the group were initially wary. How would they know whether the document would cover what they needed? Luke showed them the explanatory notes that users can read before purchase and pointed out that even with the tightest of budgets, the purchase price of £50 represented a relatively small risk. Having read the notes, the group agreed to download the contract. A lawyer was consulted to check it over, at a much lower cost than initially quoted, and they all signed. "We were amazed that the agreement could be finalised so quickly and at such low cost. It was really a fantastic find," says Luke. "If we hadn't used the ContractStore we might have tried to avoid using a contract altogether, or pieced one together ourselves. This way we have a really solid agreement that provides the basis of trust that allows each of us to concentrate on building our company together. It also allowed us to focus our financial resources where it mattered most" | 