Sven, Trudi, Uri and Viktor are four business colleagues who have been running a successful business in Scandinavia for several years. Their company operates a chain of retail outlets that sell premium teas and coffees, with high quality, healthy lunches and dinners. They now wish to introduce their business model to large cities in Russia.All four colleagues have agreed that they do not wish to expose their personal assets to risk but are prepared to make substantial personal investments to capitalise the new business. They are unsure of the best business form to adopt. Sven and Trudi favour the flexibility offered by the partnership form but acknowledge that the business has the potential to grow very rapidly which may create a need for external capital. Uri and Viktor are highly ambitious and see their business as eventually becoming a major recognised brand throughout Europe, enabling them to accumulate wealth for themselves and their children.All of them agree that it will be inevitable that new investors will be needed eventually. They wish to control the business but do not have concerns about bringing in outside participants should this become necessary.Required:Explain the alternative business forms that should be considered for the new enterprise, identifying their legal characteristics and the relevance of these to the investors. (10 marks)
