We advise on business structuring and commercial transactions involving Belize. Our work includes company and partnership formation, shareholder arrangements, joint ventures and agreements for local and cross-border transactions.
How we can help
Setting up a business
Discuss the proposed owners, management, activities and funding before choosing how to organise the venture. The practice can assist with domestic company formation, including companies limited by shares or by guarantee, and with limited liability partnerships where appropriate.
Shareholder and partnership arrangements
Clarify voting and decision rights, contributions, restrictions on transfers and what happens on exit. Where a business depends heavily on one individual or a small number of owners, agree early on how the venture will handle an unexpected departure or a disagreement.
Joint ventures and transactions
Agree what each party is bringing, who controls spending and delivery, and how revenues, assets and risks are allocated. For an agreement already in draft, we can identify the provisions that call for commercial instructions before the parties sign.
Commercial agreements
Review the actual deal behind the language. A useful agreement deals with delivery, payment, variations, ownership of work product and termination in terms the people running the business can apply.
Doing business with a Belize connection
The Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry operates the Online Business Registry System for business names, companies, limited liability partnerships and various filings. The Registry’s published guidance states that business entities with a foreign participant must use a licensed registered agent. Where regulated agent services or a specialist provider are needed, the practice can discuss the appropriate referral.
Formation is one part of establishing an operating business. The activity, customers and location can raise separate issues about permissions, tax registration, finance, property or banking. A workable plan identifies which questions belong with the attorney and which require an accountant, licensed provider or regulator.
Common instructions and decisions
- Two owners are starting a new company. They may need to agree who signs, how profits or new funding will be handled, and what happens if votes are evenly split. Company registration and the owners’ agreement solve different problems.
- An overseas business wants a local partner. The parties should agree whether they are forming a new entity or contracting through existing businesses. Clarify who signs local contracts, who owns customer relationships and what happens to shared assets if the arrangement ends.
- An established company is taking on an investor. Review any existing restrictions on issuing or transferring shares. Discuss what information and approval rights the investor will receive and how the investment affects existing owners.
Frequently asked questions
Does a registered business name create a company?
Business-name registration and company incorporation are different steps. Tell us who will own the venture, what it will do and who needs to sign its agreements, so we can discuss which structure merits consideration.
When is a shareholder agreement worth discussing?
When more than one person will own the business, discuss how the owners want to make decisions, transfer interests and handle disagreements. It is often easier to agree on these points before a dispute or funding event makes them urgent.
Can the firm assist a business based abroad?
The firm advises on Belize aspects of cross-border arrangements. Tell us where the parties are based, what activity will take place in Belize and whether you already have advisers in another jurisdiction.
What should I bring to the first discussion?
A short description of the business, a list of the proposed ownership and decision roles for your own reference, and any draft terms or signed documents. Start with the general outline and ask the office for document-sharing instructions.