The Complete Guide to Shareholder Agreements for UK Companies (2026)

A shareholders' agreement governs how your company is run between shareholders — beyond what the Articles of Association cover. Key clauses: share transfer restrictions (rights of first refusal, drag-along, tag-along), reserved matters (decisions requiring unanimous or supermajority approval), deadlock resolution, good leaver/bad leaver provisions, anti-dilution, and non-compete. This article covers every clause founders need to understand and negotiate.