Corporate Team Works on Significant Deal for Mears Group PLC
The corporate team recently completed a deal for listed Mears Group PLC, the support services group to the Social Housing and Care sectors, to acquire Omega Group Limited, a leading private sector provider of residential lettings and management services to the Social Housing market. Omega Group has a portfolio of circa 1,700 properties and a client base of 24 Local Authorities and Housing Associations.
In this high profile regional deal, the team were responsible for the acquisition with an initial consideration of £20million payable funded from Mears' existing banking facilities. Additional deferred consideration up to a maximum of £20 million will be payable upon the achievement of performance criteria linked to profitability over a 36 month period to 31 October 2017. The deferred consideration will be satisfied by either cash or shares, at the discretion of Mears with the total consideration capped at £40.0 million.
The large majority of Omega’s customers are based within London although most recently, the company has become the Social Lettings Agency for Birmingham City Council under a five- year contract to provide lettings, housing management and temporary accommodation services.
Commenting on the Acquisition, David Miles, Chief Executive of Mears, said:
“I am delighted to have completed the acquisition of Omega. The shortage of safe and secure housing is a significant challenge faced by Mears’ clients today. I anticipate Local Authorities having increased responsibility to provide more social homes and remove the reliance upon those private landlords who provide properties which are not of a consistent and uniform standard. This acquisition is a logical extension to the services provided within our Social Housing division and will enhance our ability to work with housing providers to improve the delivery of housing and property management services.”
Alan Long commented, "We have been working with BPE since 1996 and they have supported us with key acquisitions over the years. They give us clear, concise, thorough legal advice and were a key partner in getting the deal done. They have a straight forward and commercial approach we like, with the overall objective of getting the deal done on time and on budget.”
BPE Partner, Tim Ward who led the BPE team supported by Katie Yorke said: “This was a great deal for one of the county’s leading businesses and showcases the work that BPE is able to do from our base in Cheltenham. BPE is an entrepreneurial business and we enjoy working with like-minded businesses and individuals. We’re not just lawyers, we’re trusted business advisers. Like Mears, we’ve retained clients for decades and supported young businesses become multi-national operations. From starting up and structuring a business to development either through growth, joint ventures and acquisition, to floating on the stock market.”
These notes have been prepared for the purpose of articles only. They should not be regarded as a substitute for taking legal advice.