Having worked with the NHS for more than 40 years, our commercial team is well-versed in supporting clients in the public sector (such as NHS trusts, NHS foundation trusts, and housing providers) as well as private health and social care providers.
Our commercial team has worked on every major programme, significant first-in-kind transaction and landmark corporate/commercial transaction involving the NHS over the past ten years, giving us a breadth of experience unrivalled by other law firms.
Since the NHS’ Transforming Community Services (TCS) programme was launched, we have delivered tens of successful acquisitions. We have advised upon the first exercise of the statutory provisions for South London Healthcare NHS Trust’s special administration; the first exercise of the statutory acquisition regime by which a NHS foundation trust could acquire a NHS trust; the largest procurement ever undertaken by the NHS (for proton beam therapy); and the formalisation of STP, ICS and ICP arrangements, formalising joint working through flexible legal structuring that has become the market standard across the country.
Our team is consistently chosen by clients to deliver the most complex, largest and most high profile transactions.  We work closely with our clients and other professional advisers to deliver successful outcomes. Our commercial team works closely with our corporate lawyers, learn more about our corporate service here.

How can Capsticks help?

  • Public procurement

    Our procurement team has extensive experience of advising on all aspects of public procurement law. We advise clients on structuring, options appraisals, implementation and conduct of procurement processes, whether for large and complex projects or day to day requirements.

    Our expertise includes the procurement aspects of public sector collaborations, modifications to contracts during their term, framework agreements/call-off contracts and general commercial contracts.

    We appreciate that our clients work in fast-paced operational environments, and our procurement advice is always given within that context: pragmatic, solution-focussed and with an appropriate assessment of potential risks and mitigations.

  • Contracts

    We draft and advise on the full spectrum of commercial agreements required to deliver projects from inception to completion, including heads of terms, memorandums of understanding, exclusivity and confidentiality agreements, as well as the final commercial agreement. Our specific areas of expertise include joint ventures, collaborations and partnering arrangements, outsourcing contracts, information technology contracts and the supply of goods and services, particularly relating to the healthcare sector.

    Given our breadth of experience and focus on healthcare, we are able to go straight to the key issues and save our clients time and money because we have already “road-tested” commercial solutions to common problems.  If we have not encountered a specific problem in the past, we are able to call upon our wide ranging experience to develop new solutions.

  • Governance

    We advise public, private and charitable sector clients on corporate governance, compliance with company law, director and trustee duties, as well as providing company secretarial advice. We provide practical, commercially focussed legal advice, using the law and our wide-ranging experience to propose solutions tailored to our clients’ needs.

  • Projects and statutory transactions

    We have unparalleled experience of implementing organisational integration for NHS and other public sector organisations. We routinely advise on a wide range of joint ventures projects and statutory transactions in the healthcare sector. We have unique expertise of advising on ‘first in kind’ and complex transactions, including large scale transformation of pathology services, franchising arrangements, trust special administration regimes, and the implementation of joint working and ‘committees in common’ arrangements which have formed the basis of subsequent national guidance. We have advised on a number of mergers between and statutory acquisitions of NHS trusts.

  • Private finance initiative (PFI)

    We advise public sector bodies and PFI contractors on a wide range of issues relating to PFI projects, including operational issues, variations, the operation of payment mechanisms and deductions regimes, cost saving strategies as well as contractual disputes.

    In particular, we have advised a number of clients on their rights and remedies arising from failures by the PFI contractor to design and build according to fire safety legislation; monitor and report service failures and to accurately calculate deductions from service payments; and to perform backlog lifecycle works.

    We have market-leading expertise in advising on issues relating to the termination of PFI contracts during both the construction phase (where we have advised on the termination of a PFI project relating to the insolvency of Carillion) and during the operational phase (where we have advised on the termination of a PFI project for PFI Contractor Default). We are familiar with the current policy positions of the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England/Improvement in relation to distressed PFI projects and termination issues.

    We are also currently advising on issues relating to the expiry of PFI contracts.

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