Using payment tech to smooth the M&A boom

With thanks to Manchester Law Society for their coverage of topical news from Shieldpay regarding the upcoming Autumn Budget and speculations about rising Capital Gains Tax, causing a race to the end of October to complete M&A and Fundraising deals.

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With interest rates cooling and businesses sitting on huge amounts of ‘dry powder’, many anticipate an uptick in investment activity. Combine this with an anticipated hike in capital gains tax in the forthcoming Autumn Statement incentivising asset disposal, and we could be in for a significant uptick in corporate M&A.

Capital gains tax in particular is weighing on business owners' minds, as well as those of property investors and shareholders. Many are racing to complete deals before 30 October, with the assumption that new, higher rates will kick in.

This means pressure will be on the legal sector to get deals done while also ensuring deals stay compliant. So what more can legal advisers do to help clients complete in time while also mitigating the risks that come with M&A? 
 
Through an M&A process, the focus is often understandably on the deal itself and the forthcoming implementation of the merger or acquisition. The transaction itself can often be a last-minute thought, and ends up adding unnecessary stress to an already tense period.. These challenges are confounded when there can be hundreds of parties to the deal that are spread across multiple jurisdictions, currencies and time-zones.

Leaving due diligence and payments planning too late can be an expensive and reputation damaging mistake. Payments technology and automation however have the potential to help law firms manage these processes and mitigate the risk of human error, ensuring M&A payments are received on schedule and payees are confirmed and compliant.

This is vital to protecting the reputation of legal advisers involved.

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Shieldpay is the payments partner for the legal services, working with Top 200 law firms in the UK to support the secure management of client funds. To learn more about our Escrow, Paying Agent and Third-Party Managed Account services and how they simplify complex transactions, manage and protect high value funds, and solve compliance complexity, get in touch with us.