Overview

Conversion of Archerdale Limited and Archerdale Holdings Limited into an employee ownership trust including re-financing the commercial property.

Case Study

The team at Ison Harrison were instructed by the shareholders of Archerdale Holdings Limited to advise on succession planning and the conversion to an Employee Ownership Trust. Archerdale are a major supplier of threaded fasteners into many specialist industries including rail, automotive, defence, power, utilities and construction.

Founded in 1983, the company wanted to recognise the importance of its staff in flourishing into the company it has become by converting into an employee ownership trust (EOT).

However, converting into an employee ownership trust is complex as there is a specific statutory legislative regime that must be adhered to ensure that the transaction qualifies for the statutory reliefs around CGT and the tax-free distribution for the employees.

The team at Ison Harrison held an initial meeting with the shareholders of ArcherdaleLimited, alongside the Companies tax advisors, Azets, to discuss their options and to determine if an employee ownership trust would be suitable for the Company.

After determining that the company fulfilled the criteria, the team at Ison Harrison conducted due diligence on the company to identify the assets of the company to be included in the conversion to the employee ownership trust.

Ison Harrison helped guide the shareholders through the drafting of the different transaction documents including the share purchase agreement, disclosure letter and the establishment of the employee ownership trust.

As part of the transaction, the Company decided to re-finance some of the existing financial facilities operated by the Company which meant liaising with multiple lenders and negotiating the cross lender security

On completion of the transaction, Ison Harrison had negotiated to release the existing security over the company and the property and an intercreditor agreement between the remaining lenders, completing the transaction in June 2024.

Contact Us

If you would like further information about how the team at Ison Harrison can assist with re-financing and banking related queries or conversion into an EOT please contact Richard Coulthard or other members of the Corporate Team.