Legally FM
Commercial insights. Backed by law.
FM is the engine room of the built environment - keeping workplaces, housing, healthcare, education and commercial estates safe, compliant and productive. FM operators face tight margins, complex contracts, demanding KPIs, workforce challenges and rising regulatory scrutiny. FM buyers face tight budgets, increasingly complex regulatory and compliance environments, supply chain issues and public scrutiny.
Devonshires advise FM providers and buyers across the UK, including specialist FM companies, managing agents, housing associations, local authorities, and sub-contractors who are responsible for both private and public sector. Legally FM pulls together commercial insights, backed by law, from our FM experts across the firm.
Stay tuned! As new articles get published in this series, they will appear below.
Legal Due Diligence in M&A Transactions
Legal due diligence is a critical process in any mergers and acquisitions (M&A) project, aimed at identifying legal risks, liabilities, and potential deal-breakers. It supports reaching an informed valuation, strengthens negotiation positions, and lays the groundwork for a smooth post-deal integration.
This guide explores what legal due diligence involves, what buyers should look for, and how Devonshires can support clients in navigating complex M&A transactions.
The Government’s new attempt at preventing a ‘two-tier workforce’ in public sector outsourced services
The incoming Employment Rights Bill contains many and various things but one area of particular interest to FM providers who provide services to central and local Government will be the new regime surrounding the ‘two-tier workforce’.
Sanctions Risk in FM Supply Chains – Part 1: The Hidden Exposure
The UK trade and financial sanctions regime is no longer an abstract concern or an issue only for banks or defence contractors. It now reaches deep into the facilities management (FM) sector - an industry reliant on complex, multi-layered supply chains.
Choosing the Right Deal Structure - SPA vs. APA Explained
When navigating mergers and acquisitions (M&A), selecting the right deal structure is one of the most critical decisions both buyers and sellers face. The two most common frameworks - Share Purchase Agreements (SPA) and Asset Purchase Agreements (APA) - each come with unique benefits, risks, and tax implications.
The Immigration Skills Gap – What this means for employers?
Following the Immigration White Paper published earlier in May 2025 highlighting the potential changes to immigration rules, the UK will, with effect from 22 July 2025, see the first of the “sweeping reforms to the immigration system”. The Government hopes that this will address the growing public and political immigration concerns.
Negotiating the Deal - Drafting Key M&A Transaction Documents
In M&A contract negotiation, the legal documents in mergers and acquisitions don’t merely record the deal - they actively shape its commercial, legal, and operational outcomes. These documents allocate risk, clarify expectations, and govern how both parties behave before and after completion.
PFI Expiry: What Happens to Staff When the PFI Contract Ends?
As the first wave of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts approach their end, a key question is: what happens to the employees? Enter TUPE - the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. Often, when a PFI expires, TUPE kicks in, meaning staff working on the project may automatically move to a new employer, whether that’s the public authority or another contractor. But, as always, it depends on the specific terms of the PFI contract and the circumstances around its expiry.
Post-Merger Integration Legal Guide | TSAs, Risk & Employment Transfers Explained
Finalising the sale, signing on the dotted line and the circulation of completion monies is often viewed as the climax of an M&A transaction. But for management and us at Devonshires, the true complexity begins after the deal closes.
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More from our experts
Hillsborough Law – How Will the FM Sector be Held to Account?
The Hillsborough Law seeks to address the systemic failures highlighted by major public disasters including Hillsborough, Grenfell Towers, the infected blood scandal, and the Horizon scandal.
ThisWeekinFM features Nikki Bowker discussing how the Hillsborough Law will impact the FM sector.
What our clients say:
“Devonshires FM team are great to work with, always taking a pragmatic approach and offering tailored commercial advice to our FM and legal teams. Nikki, Pauline and Kris in particular are incredibly friendly and always a delight to work with. Not only is their legal advice always spot on, but they always offer added value by always thinking ahead and offering flexibility to best cater for our various FM workstreams and demands.”
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