Almshouse Association Members

Our dedicated charities corporate team are focused solely on charity transactions and have supported numerous almshouse charities on incorporations. When it comes to mergers and acquisitions, we understand it is a sensitive and pressured process, involving numerous specialist legislative and regulatory issues and impacting a variety of stakeholders, including residents, funders, local authorities and churches.. We recognise the importance of not losing the culture and history of organisations when they incorporate, merge and collaborate and tailor our advice to protect this. As well as top-level corporate skills and charity expertise, our clients benefit from the strong relationship we have with regulators and other advisers.

We advise on the full range of governance and charity law issues. This includes governance reviews, advising on legal structures (including Royal Charter, Act of Parliament and the myriad of unincorporated models), and advising on vires and powers (including in relation to mergers, disposals and securing finance). Our specialist team also support with governance training for boards and management teams, particularly in relation to duties and responsibilities, conflicts of interest, and trustee recruitment.

We regularly review and draft policies and procedures that are needed to support good governance, including codes of governance and conduct, schemes of delegation, conflicts of interest, financial regulations, safeguarding, investing charity funds and many more.

We are often called on to assist almshouse charities with their property portfolios and provide advice on a range of associated topics including boundary and covenant issues, title registration, rights of way and planning matters. Where you are looking to refurbish or develop, we carry out pre-development title checks to identify and deal with any rights and restrictions which may interfere with your plans so these can be dealt with early in the process. We advise on the sale and purchase of freehold and leasehold land on both a conditional and unconditional basis, including the imposition of overage provisions. When dealing with the transfer of assets on an incorporation or merger, we deal with the necessary vesting declarations or property transfers, ensuring a smooth transition. We provide supporting guidance on compliance with the Charities Act disposal regime throughout and assist with obtaining Charity Commission (or other regulatory) consents and approvals when required.

We also have significant experience of dealing with permanent endowment land, designated land and historic and listed buildings.

Our experience ranges from dealing with large capital project support to drafting and advising on procurement routes, tenders, letters of intent, construction contracts, collateral warranties, letters of reliance and consultants’ appointments. This includes bringing claims from defective work, financing options and liaising with funders for due diligence purposes. We provide cost effective solutions to construction disputes through adjudication, arbitration, litigation and, where possible, mediation. Our team also includes experts in planning, highways and environmental matters enabling us to support with any issues you may have including challenging planning decisions, advising on permitted development rights and certificates of lawfulness, drafting legal agreements and advising on heritage or habitats issues.

We advise almshouse charities on a full range of banking and finance matters including grant funding and loan financing. Our specialist team reviews and negotiates grant and loan agreements and supports when security is being taken over property. The team also work on the financial aspects of incorporation, mergers and acquisitions, liaising with banks and documenting the release of security on completion.

We support almshouse charities with the full range of employment issues including recruitment, performance and absence management, disciplinary matters (including safeguarding allegations), TUPE, severance arrangements and Employment Tribunal cases. On incorporations, mergers and restructurings, the employment team work closely with our corporate specialists to ensure the smooth and timely transition of staff.

We advise on the full range of commercial contracts almshouse charities may require, including facilities management, security and grounds maintenance agreements. We regularly advise on collaborative agreements with other charities and sector organisations as well as substantial donations that may be received.

Our team provide specialist advice on insurance, policy wordings and disputes. We work closely with charities on resolving sensitive and complex claims (both pre and post litigation), incident investigations, Health and Safety Executive regulatory investigations and inquests. Our specialist lawyers have also developed and delivered tailored business resilience initiatives to identify and mitigate risk.

We support almshouse charities to resolve disputes relating to anything from grounds maintenance, repairs and maintenance contracts to cleaning contracts and boundary disputes.

Reputation is invaluable to almshouse charities and, should residents or other stakeholders take to the press, social media or regulators in an unproductive way, our specialist solicitors will be part of your crisis response team and ensure your reputation is protected.