For many charities and social enterprises, collaboration with other organisations is vital, either as a means of creating greater social impact which would not be possible on their own, or as a means of ensuring more effective use of limited resources.
As demand for the services provided by charities and social enterprises continues to rise against an increasingly difficult funding climate, we anticipate sector organisations will be keen to explore wider and deeper collaborations as a key component of their strategic plans.
Types of collaboration
We have a long track record of advising on all types of collaboration, including:
- Informal joint working arrangements
- Contractual collaborations, such as consortium arrangements to deliver commissioned services
- Joint Ventures, where a separate legal vehicle for the collaboration is established
- Full mergers
We can advise on all aspects of the collaboration, from early stage discussions, advising on the most appropriate structure for the collaboration and the key legal documents, through to implementation and where necessary, exit.
Charity Mergers
We have very significant experience of advising on charity mergers, which we see as an increasing trend in the sector. In our experience successful mergers often result from the mutual trust established by earlier, successful collaborations between the organisations involved.
We can assist with all aspects of charity mergers including:
- Preliminary discussions and head of terms
- Structuring the merger
- Due diligence
- Obtaining any required Charity Commission or other regulatory consents
- Drafting and negotiating the merger agreement
- Dealing with legal formalities of asset transfers, such as employment/TUPE and property
- Dealing with closure and dissolution of charities
Recent examples we have worked on have included:
- Advising on the merger between the Marine Biological Association and the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation of Ocean Science (CPR survey)
- Advising Hospiscare on its merger with Hospiscare Exmouth & Lympstone
- Advising Heartswell South West on its merger with Heartswell Lodge to form Hearts Together
Why choose Tozers?
Our charity and social enterprise lawyers are specialists, focussed on these sectors. We listen, working with you to understand your needs and desired goals, helping you deliver them efficiently so you can create more social impact.
Our team has a wealth of knowledge in relation to charity and social enterprise law. Many of our team are trustees themselves. We regularly speak at charity and social enterprise seminars and conferences and well as hosting our own sector networking events.