Collaborations & Mergers

We know what it takes to make your collaboration a success

Maybe you’re looking to increase your funding options – or maybe you’re seeking creative ways to increase expertise, skills and knowledge; bringing a better, more joined-up service for your beneficiaries. Working with other organisations might help to achieve this or other aims.

The Charity Governance Code recommends that trustees ‘consider the benefits and risks of partnership working, merger or dissolution if other organisations are fulfilling similar charitable purposes more effectively and/or if the charity’s viability is uncertain.’

We advise across the full spectrum of collaborations, from informal arrangements through to joint ventures and full mergers. We understand the importance of considering heritage, brand, culture and compatibility as thoroughly as we understand the legal and regulatory steps you’ll need to take.

We’ve helped countless charities into successful collaborative working relationships – and we’ve advised on some of the sector’s largest mergers of recent years. We’ve even jointly published the definitive accessible guide, Thinking about… merger, together with the Institute for Voluntary Action Research.

How we help

Collaboration

We’ll explore the options with you and help you to decide what is best suited to the project given factors such as the purpose, size and complexity, parties involved and tax considerations. We can help prepare heads of agreement, reflecting the key principles agreed between the parties to ensure a smoother journey to negotiating the final documents. We’ll support you in undertaking due diligence. We’ll advise you on managing the risks, the regulatory and compliance issues, the financial and resource implications, and the tax and VAT liabilities.

And we’ll work with you to draft a collaboration agreement that is fair and balanced, protecting your interests while delivering on your ambitions.

Merger

If you’re thinking about merger, our merger assessment service offers a quick and low cost way to determine whether a merger is a good way forward. Our report will help you to weigh up the benefits and costs and an outline of the process you’ll go through. If you go ahead, we’ll help you to project manage the moving parts, from due diligence on your potential merger partner, to engaging your stakeholders, working with the regulators and anticipating the HR, finance, and legal processes that will be set in motion by the decision.

Meet our team
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