Meridian Corporate Finance and Moore Barlow have collaborated and advised on the restructure of CSA Environmental (“CSA”) to facilitate management taking a greater role in the business.
Established in 1998 by founder Clive Self, and joined by Aidan Marsh in 2002, CSA is a leading provider of environmental consultancy services within the areas of landscape, ecology, heritage and urban design. CSA has established itself as a trusted expert, providing the highest quality professional advice, based upon a specialist understanding of planning and the environment.
With a team of over 70 skilled professionals spread across six strategic locations in Basingstoke, Brighton, Cambridge, Hertfordshire, Sheffield and Tewkesbury, CSA offers a diverse range of services tailored to meet the unique needs of clients across residential, commercial, renewables, leisure and other sectors.
The deal was led by a team of local professional advisers; Philip Mettam, Director at Meridian Corporate Finance; Kirsty Leary, Partner at Moore Barlow; Cathy Revis, Head of Tax and Transactional Support at Fiander Tovell.
Meridian worked with CSA to restructure the shareholder base, allowing key management a greater stake in the business and building a platform to drive growth and succession. Under the new management structure, the management team remains committed to delivering the unparalleled service and to creating positive outcomes for people, places and nature.
The transaction necessitated careful advice on tax matters from Cathy Revis at Fiander Tovell, balancing all stakeholders’ requirements to achieve their individual objectives.
Moore Barlow worked closely with Meridian Corporate Finance and Fiander Tovell in order to lead the legal side of the transaction and ensure that the critical commercial and tax elements were captured by the legal documentation.
We are delighted to complete this restructuring, which has achieved everything we hoped for in terms of succession and leaving CSA in a great position to continue its growth and evolution. With a comparatively large senior management team involved, the expert, friendly and patient guidance from Meridian has been crucial in crafting this deal. Likewise, the support from Moore Barlow and Fiander Tovell has been excellent and we have nothing but praise for everyone who has assisted us.
Clive Self / Aidan Marsh, shareholders of CSA
CSA have built an exceptionally strong management team and wanted a structure that reflected the contribution they make to the company. We were challenged with creating a structure that addressed today’s business, whilst also accommodating both succession and incentivization for key individuals alongside a medium term business plan. The transaction was a great example of corporate finance, legal and tax professionals working together to build a bespoke solution to meet the client’s needs. We wish the team all the best of luck in the next stage of their journey and look forward to hearing about their future successes!
Kirsty and the Moore Barlow team were instrumental in explaining and agreeing key points between the stakeholders. Their experience in managing multiple stakeholders, and ability to take legal principles and translate them into easily digestible commercial examples was incredibly helpful in navigating the legal documents and ensuring everyone came away comfortable and enthusiastic about the deal.
Philip Mettam, Director of Meridian Corporate Finance
CSA is a fantastic business that has been operating and continuing to grow for more than 25 years. A relatively large management team can bring its own challenges with it, however, it was a pleasure to support Clive, Aidan and all of the management team on the restructuring which puts in place a clear succession plan, enabling the company to continue to drive future growth and development with a strong and dedicated team in place. We’re excited to see what CSA will achieve next!
Kirsty Leary, Partner at Moore Barlow
