Osborne Clarke advising The Property Franchise Group PLC on its £214 million recommended all-share merger with Belvoir Group PLC

International legal practice Osborne Clarke is advising AIM-quoted The Property Franchise Group PLC, a leading property franchisor in the UK and manager of a substantial estate agency network and portfolio of lettings properties, in relation to its recommended proposed £214 million all-share merger with Belvoir Group PLC.  AIM-quoted Belvoir is a leading UK property, mortgage and franchise group operating through two divisions: a network of property franchisees and a network of mortgage advisers which, together, combine to support customers throughout their property transactions.

The combined group will benefit from increased scale with more than 930 property franchise locations, managing approximately 152,000 tenanted properties across the UK and will be expected to sell more than 28,000 properties per annum.  Upon completion of the Merger (which is to be implemented by means of a Court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement pursuant to Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006), Belvoir shareholders will hold approximately 48.25 per cent. and TPFG shareholders will hold approximately 51.75 per cent. of the enlarged issued share capital of TPFG.

Canaccord Genuity Limited is acting as financial adviser to TPFG in respect of the Merger.

Completion of the Merger is anticipated to occur in March 2024.

The Osborne Clarke team which is advising TPFG on the Merger is being led by Partner Jonathan King who is being assisted by Associate Director Ed Nisbet, Senior Associates Stuart Miller and Oliver Woods and trainee Tom Petrides. Partner Michael Carter and Senior Associate Stuart Rose are advising on the incentives arrangements. Partner Simon Neill and Associate Joachim Piotrowski are advising on competition aspects.

Osborne Clarke's Corporate team, which is ranked in the top tiers by both Chambers and the Legal 500 for AIM, is considered a go-to practice for many companies, working with global businesses to fast-growth start-ups and market challengers. The team advises at every stage of company development across all corporate issues, from equity and debt fundraisings to M&A, IPOs and JVs.