What We Do
Governance
Our Banking and Corporate Team provide a comprehensive range of advice on governance matters to clients ranging from trading companies to trusts (incorporated and unincorporated), charities, housing providers, cooperatives and partnerships of all kinds (including LLPs). Our advice covers:
- constitution: the appointment/removal and powers of members and the board (or trustees), conflicts of interests and resolution of internal disputes;
- vires, where relevant – in particular for charities, housing providers, statutory undertakings and local authority controlled companies. We will provide a “legal appraisal” of a scheme or project to confirm it falls within your powers;
- group structures: how to create and control special purpose vehicles whilst allowing representation to stakeholders (such as staff, service users or a local authority or statutory body) and complying with regulators’ requirements. We have devised intra-group relationship, cost sharing and funding agreements which are “cutting-edge” and widely used in the sectors in which our clients operate;
- regulatory compliance: in particular, compliance with governance expectations of housing, utility and other regulators on such matters as probity and diversification of activities, and compliance with the various Codes of Conduct or Practice which apply in each client’s sector;
- “ring-fencing” regulated from unregulated activities within a group or within a corporate body;
- mergers including business acquisitions, amalgamations and transfers of engagements including the necessary due diligence work.
In all these types of work we liaise closely with the relevant regulators. We have excellent relations with the Tenant Services Authority (and act for them), the Charity Commission and the Financial Services Authority and regularly lecture with them on topics of current interest. Our working relationships with such bodies enable us to able to obtain successful outcomes and ensures that corporate governance transactions run smoothly.
For further information please contact Gareth Hall.
