Healthcare

Introduction

Our Healthcare team combines legal knowledge with detailed industry know how to offer unrivalled expertise inCorporate & Commercial, Commercial property, Employment and Regulatory matters across the different healthcare disciplines.

Among our areas of focus are:

• Care homes, domiciliary care and other care providers
• Complimentary therapy
• Dentists
• Doctors/GPs
• Opticians
• Veterinarians

1.2 Care homes, domiciliary care and other care providers

We act for many clients in the care providers sector.

The Healthcare Team are able to advise and support clients in any commercial issues that arise in the day-to-day running of businesses in the care sector. We can also advise on sale or disposal; a recent example was acting on the sale of a domiciliary care business for more than £5m.

Our services include:

• Disposals/acquisitions/mergers
• Expert property assistance including developmental and infrastructure agreements
• Supplier and other commercial agreements
• Management Agreements
• Regulatory advice including registration issues with Care Quality Commission
• Employee issues

Dentists

At Morrisons, we have more than 20 years of experience acting for dentists and we are a member of the National Association of Specialist Dental Accountants and Lawyers (NASDAL), the specialist industry body.

We have worked for a broad range of dental clients, from high street sole practitioners to specialist practices in Harley Street.  We are able to offer advice in the following areas:

• Practice sales, mergers and acquisitions
• Interpretation and advice in relation to GDS, PDS/PDS Plus and Warburton contracts
• The ‘partnership route’ as a means of obtaining the benefit of the NHS contract
• Incorporation of businesses into new companies (dental bodies corporate) as new trading vehicles, including incorporation agreements and advice in relation to preserving any GDS/PDS contract
• Partnership issues including disputes and the drafting of cost/expense sharing agreements
• Employment issues including dealing with associates and employees
• Ad-hoc advice in specific circumstances such as associates leaving a dental practice and wishing to set up in competition with their existing practice
• Assisting on a free of charge basis for agents/clients for the ‘scoping’ of a transaction. For example, the best strategy to ensure that any GDS/PDS contract is passed on to the buyer
• Planning/property issues
• Advice on setting up a squat practice
• Regulatory issues including Care Quality Commission

In 2010 alone, we completed approximately 16 dental practice sales or purchases, ranging from £50,000 to £3.5m in value.

We have close links with a network of valuers, brokers and healthcare managers in all the major lenders in the healthcare market.

We can help with the sale or purchase of dental practices and can also offer full commercial property support in relation to the conveyance of freehold, grant or assignment of a new lease.

Doctors/GPs

Our Healthcare Team offers a full range of services to GPs and doctors.

The team has recently been working with entrepreneurial GPs in setting up a joint venture to take advantage of the changes in the way medical services are offered.

Our services include:

• Advice on partners ‘buying in’ to GP practices
• Full range of support for practice managers in day to day employment issues
• Partnership deeds amendments and drafting
• Property issues
• Joint ventures with groups of GPs
• Disputes between partners and any general advice for exit planning
• New build projects and development agreements, including funding and leaseback agreements

Pharmacies

Morrisons Healthcare Team has many years of experience assisting in the acquisition and disposal of pharmacies. A recent high-profile case was a series of disposals to the Day Lewis Group.  Our services include:

• Disposals/acquisitions/mergers
• Expert property assistance
• Employee issues
• General commercial issues