UK plc - confidential

Partner Adrian Hoggarth

Key Facts:

£100,000 Saved in client rent

25% Negotiated decrease in asking price

Safeguarded 250 jobs

Negotiated £50 million acquisition of business

Helped client to expand into 20 new countries

Saved client £150,000 in Capital Gains Tax

Summary

Jurit was appointed by a UK Plc, a subsidiary of a Spanish infrastructure group, to support the business in the termination of a service provider contract and the TUPE transfer of employees to a new corporate entity – Ltd.

Drawing on expertise from across our employment and corporate and M&A teams, we supported our client in setting up the new company and its corporate structure, negotiating the termination of existing commercial agreements and the transfer of liabilities, and effecting the TUPE transfer of the 20-strong team to the new entity on their behalf.

Challenge

Whilst a similar legal process to TUPE (pursuant to EU regulations) exists in Spain, our client required Jurit’s employment expertise to understand the legal requirements under UK TUPE regulations and the allocation of liabilities under existing contractual arrangements, as well as on the transfer of the employees.

How we helped

We helped our client to understand the UK TUPE process, the law and how it applied to them
Our employment lawyers project-managed the process to completion, working closely with all parties to achieve this.
We undertook initial due diligence and produced a report on the legal implications of what our client wanted to achieve – analysing contracts, employee benefits and potential areas of dispute
Drawing on the expertise of our corporate and M&A team, we set up the new UK-based company to which the employees would be transferred
As part of this, we helped establish the corporate structure, assisting with everything from pension and medical insurance to payroll, to ensure compliance with TUPE through the replication of employment terms in the new entity
Where needed, we brought in additional HR consultancy and pensions expertise to manage employee relations, company benefits and pension scheme requirements
We negotiated the termination of the existing commercial secondment agreement and drafted a transfer agreement that allocated liabilities between the parties
Once complete, we facilitated the consultation with affected employees prior to the transfer, adapting to online consultation meetings owing to the evolving challenges of the pandemic

Result

Adapting to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, we successfully transferred all employees across to the new entity under TUPE.
The business and its employees are now set up for future success and we have since been retained to advise on another similar project for the client.

Testimonial

We are grateful to Jurit for the expert legal advice they provided us with, to help achieve our aims. From supporting us with insight into the workings of the UK TUPE system and what was required of us, to assisting us throughout the process of due diligence, the setting up of the new corporate entity and managing the TUPE process, all whilst having to adapt to the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic, they had an unfaltering energy and determination to achieve our aims and were successful in doing so
Project Manager / Commercial & Finance Manager