Acquisition and disposal
Case Studies
Properties acquired
Expansion plans for European pharmaceutical group
A leading European pharmaceutical company, which develops, manufactures and markets high quality innovative medicines. The company’s success is focused on improving the quality of its products and expanding capacity at its two main manufacturing bases, in South Wales and France.
In order to facilitate expansion of the South Wales facility, Our clients sought to acquire a parcel of land adjacent to it’s existing manufacturing base. On the face of it an uncomplicated process, the acquisition proved to be highly problematic.
“Just making contact with the land owner, took considerable time,” explains our clients Special Projects Manager “This was followed by protracted discussions and extensive negotiations. There was also the added complication of the strict regulatory framework and licensing requirements that we, like other pharmaceutical companies, operate under. As the land in question was adjacent to our current facility, we could continue with our current licence - if we were to look at alternative land, we would require a new licence which would be time-consuming and costly.”
“The project was very important to our clients development plans, and also had a major economic impact for Wales – the potential loss of existing high calibre jobs meant the project was in the spotlight.”
“Robert Chapman advised us throughout the process, both in terms of technical and professional details. His persistence and sound tactical advice played a key role in achieving a successful outcome offering us an opportunity to make significant investment in our South Wales site
Professional guidance uncovers bottom line benefits
Property transactions are generally expensive and there is scope for substantial financial loss if they are not handled properly. Sampsons is one company that discovered real bottom line benefits by taking professional advice.
Mr Singh operates Sampsons Discount Stores in Cardiff. He first sought professional advice from Robert Chapman when the acquisition of a property on Penarth Road was proving particularly difficult. Robert was able to uncover what was causing the delays - complex issues concerning the previous owner and non-payment of ground rent – and brought the project to a successful conclusion, with Mr Singh acquiring a long lease of the property on favourable terms.
“Having advised us so well on the first property, I sought Robert Chapman’s assistance again regarding the acquisition of a small industrial unit on Western Avenue in Cardiff.” explains Mr Singh. “Something that should have been quite straight forward seemed to be taking an age and was becoming more and more complicated. Robert took a very robust approach and agreed sensible terms on our behalf – I’m sure we would otherwise have paid over the odds. The result is that we are now trading in 2 locations in Cardiff - that would not have been possible without Robert’s professional advice.”