Ben, Harry and William are running a successful retail business called 'Tapestry Pretty'. They have a written agreement which notes that the parties are not in a partnership. They are running a joint venture and they will be sharing the profit of the business equally. The agreement also notes that Ben and Harry will be in charge of managing the business. William will be in charge of financing the business. He will also have the capacity to access the books of the company at will. All the parties agree that William's identity is not to be disclosed to the public. Furthermore, the agreement states that the joint venturers (Ben, Harry and William) cannot compete between each other.

a) Are the parties in a joint venture? (6 marks)

b) Based on the facts of Question 1, Based on the facts of Question 1, can Ben open a competing business structure? (4 marks)