header-logo header-logo

Minority report: directors' duties & protecting minority shareholders

01 November 2024 / Dr Anil Balan
Categories: Features , Company
printer mail-detail
195043
Balancing the duties of directors & the protection of minority shareholders is a fine line, writes Dr Anil Balan. What protections does the law offer?
  • Sets out the duties of directors to promote the success of the company, and juxtaposes this with the challenges minority shareholders face when majority shareholders or directors make decisions that could disadvantage them.
  • Considers remedies such as derivative actions and unfair prejudice petitions, as well as case law that has clarified their scope and application.
  • Examines the law in other jurisdictions, from which lessons may be learned, and considers the future for protecting minority shareholders’ interests.

The duty of directors to act in the best interests of the company is a cornerstone of UK company law. However, this duty can sometimes conflict with the protection of minority shareholders, whose interests may not always align with those of the company or its majority shareholders. It is important for directors to strike a balance between these competing interests, and for legal and governance mechanisms to be

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
In this week's NLJ, Steven Ball of Red Lion Chambers unpacks how advances in forensic science finally unmasked Ryland Headley, jailed in 2025 for the 1967 rape and murder of 75-year-old Louisa Dunne. Preserved swabs and palm prints lay dormant for decades until DNA-17 profiling produced a billion-to-one match
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
back-to-top-scroll