Plymouth law firm, GA Solicitors, has advised a national healthcare organisation on the acquisition of 17 commercial property leases around the UK after it secured NHS contracts worth £26million as part of a company buy-out.
ERS Transition Ltd, a leading emergency and non-emergency patient transport provider, secured nationwide contracts with the NHS totalling £26million when it purchased the ERS Medical Brand from SRCL Limited. As part of this deal it acquired 17 leasehold properties across the North East, North West, South East and the Midlands which needed to be advised upon by a suitably experienced law firm.
The Leeds based organisation instructed GA Solicitors’ commercial property team to undertake the specialist landlord and tenant work, advising upon 17 different tenancy agreements, each with varying lengths and restrictions. The properties were a mix of offices and industrial units, with lease terms ranging from two to ten years.
David Stone, partner of GA Solicitors and head of the commercial property team commented: “ERS Transition is one of the largest independent healthcare service providers in the UK so this was a significant client win for the firm.
“Due to the number of different tenancies this was a relatively complex matter. Each contract required thorough investigation to identify any potential risks for our client and advice given on each aspect. Added to this, due to time restrictions with the deal, all 17 leases had to be transferred with landlords’ consents secured within a three month period.
“The work was concluded efficiently and GA Solicitors will now continue to work with ERS to ensure ongoing management of its extensive property portfolio.”
John Fraser, director of ERS Transition Limited, added: “We purchased an established business, securing several multi-million pound NHS contracts and with it, the numerous properties across the UK.
“Timing restrictions and the need to coordinate the property handovers with the transfer of the relevant NHS contract, meant all the leases needed to be transferred in geographically based batches within a three month window. GA Solicitors worked meticulously on each lease, highlighting any potential issues and ensuring the relevant transfers were completed and consents secured within each and every deadline.
“We will look forward to continuing this relationship and working with them in the future.”
GA Solicitors has more than 200 years of heritage and employs one of the largest commercial property teams in Plymouth.