When buying a business, looking at its pension arrangements may be low on your agenda. However, the value of the benefits promised to members could be so significant that you need to review your purchase price, modify the benefits or find other ways of reducing the risk.

As the purchaser, you need to understand both the financial and HR impact of any obligations you agree to take on. This is critical because they will affect future cashflow as well as profit and loss charges under local and international accounting standards, and the attitude of employees (particularly senior employees) and unions to the acquisition.

Independent Advice

We advise on the financial and HR implications of buying companies and businesses where employees belong to pension plans. We help to ensure that the obligations taken on by the purchaser are appropriate and reflected in the deal price.

Our full range of services is designed to help clients make sure that they get the pensions side of their purchase right, every step of the way – from analysing the pension benefits being provided and reviewing the financial terms offered, to advising on the implications both for employees and for future pension costs and helping to set up a new pension plan if required.

We have such an enormous wealth of knowledge and experience of the implications of buying businesses where pensions are involved, that a number of the major venture capital organisations come to us for advice. Advice that can save companies a lot of money in the long term as well as helping to keep the workforce motivated.

Please contact us for information about our complete suite of retirement consulting services.