Lawyer Monthly - March 2023

TRANSACTION INTERVIEW 95 Understandable advice that is effective and delivers the key objectives of the key stakeholders is at the foundation of what we do. How did your own work and collaboration with other legal counsel see the project to satisfactory completion? It worked really well – the majority of our work was at the start, preparing the clearance for HMRC, ensuring the concept could work from a tax perspective and protecting the long term health of the business. In the middle, the legal team worked incredibly hard to deliver the transfer into employee ownership before Christmas. Now we are working with the Herd team to sort out all of the compliance aspects of the new structure and offering any guidance as needed. What does the future hold for the Herd Group and its operations under its new Employee Ownership Trust? I think that the future looks great for the Herd Group. It is an exciting business with great plans and ideas; a really fun brand. Moving to EOT ownership represents quite a major shift for the management team, with new responsibilities and roles, leading to greater engagement in shaping the future of the business. I cannot wait to see where it goes from here. In what ways does your work on this move fit the profile of your firm? We love to advise owner-managed businesses, and in particular (from my perspective) it is fantastic to be advising owners who are buying, selling, merging or reconstructing their businesses. There are so many angles to consider, and we pride ourselves in giving the all-round advice that is needed without lots of jargon. Understandable advice that is effective and delivers the key objectives of the key stakeholders is at the foundation of what we do. Advisors on the transaction:

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