GCC Group is a managed IT services provider supporting more than 600 clients. This acquisition provides an opportunity of growth for Xperience group and allows them to reinforce their presence across the UK. Menzies LLP were advisors for GCC Group during this acquisition.
“We are delighted to have been able to support our long-term client with this transaction and wish both GCC Group and Xperience every success in their future business plans."
Q&A with Rebecca Wilkinson
Can you explain what your role and responsibilities were during this acquisition and what tasks you undertook for this specific deal?
Menzies LLP provided tax advisory support to GCC Group, ensuring that tax efficiency was maximised for both the group and its shareholders.
Our work involved advising on the tax sections of the sale agreement, ensuring that the value of future tax benefits were taken into account when negotiating the sale consideration, advising the shareholders on their personal tax positions and providing general tax support throughout the transaction.
How did you bring your experience and expertise of the tax and business regimes to this project to assist the GCC Group efficiently?
Menzies LLP has a wealth of experience in advising clients on business sales and acquisitions. We were able to use our expertise to ensure that negotiations on the tax warranties were concluded quickly, that the tax due diligence process ran smoothly and that the shareholders were able to realise the benefit of tax assets due to the GCC Group.
During this project with GCC Group were there any challenges you and your team faced and how do you address these for the benefit of the transaction and the client?
The biggest challenge of any sale is to ensure that the transaction remains on track and completes within the required timescales. We had a dedicated team supporting GCC Group which ensured we were able to respond to queries quickly and efficiently. We also worked closely with GCC Group’s other professional advisers to provide a joined-up service, which enabled the transaction to complete smoothly.
Could you walk us through the support Menzies typically offer clients once the deal has been made?
When acting for the sale side of a transaction, our follow-on work typically involves assisting the sellers deal with their personal tax affairs. Many sales involve receiving proceeds over an earn-out period and it is important to ensure that deferred consideration is correctly reported and that appropriate tax elections are made to maximise tax reliefs where applicable. We also assist shareholders with longer term tax and financial planning to ensure that wealth arising from the sale is managed efficiently for the sellers and future generations.
