Corporate transactions

Legal advice in relation to corporate transactions requires a commercial assessment of the target's actual or contingent environmental risks and liabilities, including:

1. •

   potential impact on the value of assets (eg remediation or other clean-up costs)

2. •

   operational risks (eg enforcement action for non-compliance or the transfer, suspension or revocation of an environmental permit or other necessary licence)

3. •

   consequential costs of compliance (eg upgrades to plant and equipment)

4. •

   reputational risks (eg pollution incidents or perception of poor environmental or sustainability performance adversely affecting share prices)

The scope and extent of environmental due diligence depends on:

1. •

   nature of the transaction (eg share purchase, asset sale, merger or acquisition)

2. •

   client (eg buyer, seller, lender or guarantor)

3. •

   value of the transaction

4. •

   amount of properties and whether freehold or leasehold

5. •

   type of business activities (eg manufacturing or offices)

6. •

   materiality threshold, below which risks and liabilities are not explored or reported on

7. •

   location of the target and/or assets (eg UK or abroad)

8. •

   type of due diligence required (eg high-level draft, full report, certificate of title)

9. •

   timeframe

10. •

    confidentiality/market sensitivity of the transaction