City firm Sykes Anderson has launched an on-line calculator for working out the estimated fees for dealing with a company share purchase, following on from its previous success with similar conveyancing and probate facilities.

The firm launched the calculator - which can be found on its Web site, www.sykesanderson.com - in response to a growing demand from business clients for transparency and for legal services to be commoditised.


To obtain an estimate, clients are asked to input information such as the purchase price for the target company, the amount of external funding or borrowing required, and whether or not the acquisition is being made as part of a joint venture. They are also required to provide details of the number of employees at the target company, and the number of commercial premises it owns or occupies.


Christopher Sykes, head of the firm's commercial department, said: 'Company share transactions are often complex and there are a great many variables, which may or not apply. Nevertheless, we feel it is important that a client should be able to easily obtain an indication of likely fees.'