The client wanted to acquire an electrical contractor to help benefit from VAT savings on all electrical contracting expenditure for its housing stock. Part of the requirement was to obviate the need to tender and re-tender electrical repairs, maintenance and reinvestment work as well as establishing a long-term arrangement with a service provider with whom the client had historically had a good relationship.
They also wanted to create a more diverse skill set within their workforce to take greater advantage of aspects of the Green Deal and reap the benefit from improvements to working practices, including those to tenants arising from routine calls being dealt with directly in-house.
With the potential to realise economies of scale savings from the joint procurement of materials, insurance, telephony, vehicles, training, waste disposal and utilities, the project would additionally allow savings in staff time and administrative functions which could all be passed on.
What was our role?
Our solicitors advised the client on the acquisition, exploring the options of legal structures available to them to achieve their overriding objectives. This included legal due diligence and the need to ensure that it was delivered within their costs budget and desired timescales.
We also advised on warranties and indemnities backed by retentions to ensure that the client was adequately protected against risks identified during the due diligence and any liabilities and issues not disclosed by the sellers prior to completion.
The project culminated in an intra-group agreement for support and asset sharing arrangements post-completion.
How did we add value?
We advised the client not only on the best structure for the acquisition in terms of limiting their liability for historical liabilities in the company but also to ensure they benefitted from the EU procurement rules and VAT savings they set out to achieve.
