Corporate restructuring, reorganisations & demergers

Specialist legal advice and effective restructuring solutions

There are many reasons why a company may wish to restructure its share capital or ownership structure, whether that be as part of a future sale strategy or to facilitate additional funding coming into the business. Clarke Willmott’s corporate team has extensive experience of all aspects of restructuring and demergers, from advising on solutions to meet your business goals to drafting the necessary agreements.

In general, restructuring or demerging exercises are managed in-house. However, it’s important that the actions taken are robust and compliant, particularly transfers of assets. Inadequate or inaccurate documentation risks compromising future business transactions such as a sale or insolvency proceedings.

That’s why waiting until the last minute to involve a corporate solicitor often proves to be a false economy. By involving Clarke Willmott early in the process, our corporate solicitors can work in conjunction with your tax and accounting advisers, using their practical and commercial expertise to ensure that your business aims are met in a cost effective, efficient and watertight manner.

How our corporate solicitors can help

Our corporate team regularly advise on:

• Demergers
• Solvent schemes of arrangement
• Share capital buy back
• Intra-group reorganisations
• Refinancing

Some of our recent transactions

Danewood Properties

Advised on a capital reduction demerger for a group of investment companies so they could be run as separate companies. Elements include the review of trust documents to ensure compliance (as some of the shares were held in various trusts) as well as the split of various assets, including an investment portfolio and interests in various leasehold and freehold properties, into joint ownership.

Osprey Maritime Group

Advised on a reorganisation of logistics plant business Osprey Maritime and its group, including intercompany loan arrangements, set-off matters and connected business and share transfers.

 DYWIDAG

Advised on a reorganisation of the UK operations of international engineering monitoring business DYWIDAG, including reduction of share capital, business and share transfers, novation and set-off of loan arrangements with international holding entities and dissolutions.

Utility reinstatement business

Advised on the demerger of a client’s property investment business from its core trading business. This restructuring laid the foundations for the subsequent sale of the trading business to an employee ownership trust (on which we also advised).

Holding company in the manufacturing sector

Acted for the shareholders in a holding company that had a number of trading subsidiaries and owned a number of freehold and leasehold properties. The shareholders were considering a potential sale of the trading businesses and wanted to separate them out from the properties. We advised on a group reorganisation carried out by way of a capital reduction demerger to separate ownership of the trading businesses from the properties in a tax-efficient manner.

Contact a corporate solicitor about a restructure or demerger today

Our corporate team’s restructuring specialists based in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, London, Manchester, Southampton and Taunton, are ready to advise you on the best course of action for your business.  We can provide corporate legal advice to businesses located within the UK and internationally.

Call for a free initial consultation today on 0800 652 8025 or get in touch online.