The London Borough of Merton (LBM) has agreed to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary, CHAS 2013 Ltd, to Veriforce Ltd, a US-based supply-chain and compliance management provider.
Set up in 1997 and incorporated as a Council owned company in 2013, CHAS has become the leading national provider of risk prevention, compliance and supply chain management services for clients and contractors, working across the public sector, construction, education and transport industries. It represents more than 30,000 contractors, with more than 2,500 clients to date.
Contracts have been exchanged, and the sale is due to complete in coming weeks.
Veriforce has given a commitment to fund a £50,000 annual paid internship program for young adults in the local area to develop skills whilst working at CHAS, as well as an annual £50,000 charitable donation to support small businesses and grow the local economy. They will maintain their EMEA headquarters in Merton.
The money raised from the sale cannot be used for day-to-day service provision such as social care or the refuse service, but it can be used for capital spending such as investment in infrastructure projects or invested to generate additional income.
Hannah Doody, Chief Executive at Merton Council, said: “CHAS has been a fantastic example of a well-run, commercially successful local authority trading company, and this sale creates the investment for it to continue to grow. In the past five years it has developed significantly, responding positively to the increasingly complex risk management needs of its customers.
“The deal not only generates a capital receipt for the authority, but also secures external investment that will keep the company competitive and deliver additional services for its ever-growing client base.”
Councillor Ross Garrod, Leader of Merton Council, added: “We are incredibly proud to have built CHAS into the success it is today, and this deal will not only secure its ongoing growth into the future but will also provide much-needed capital for the council to invest into local improvements.
“At the same time, it creates ongoing employment locally with CHAS continuing to be based here and will create further jobs through its internship programme in the borough.”
Veriforce was represented by Kirkland & Ellis and the London Borough of Merton was represented by BDO LLP and Bevan Brittan LLP.
ENDS
About CHAS:
- CHAS is the leading provider of risk prevention, compliance and supply chain management services for clients and contractors.
- CHAS is an authority and trusted advisor on health and safety compliance and responsible for setting industry benchmarks. It aims to
- standardise and simplify health and safety assessment for contractors
- support organisations in efficiently managing their supply chains
- deliver a full suite of supply chain management tools
- Journalists can find out more at www.chas.co.uk, and interviews are available by contacting Matt Burrows, Head of Communications at London Borough of Merton on 07958 248689.
About Veriforce:
Veriforce® is a recognized leader in delivering comprehensive, integrated supply chain risk management solutions that help bring workers home safely and optimize business performance. The company’s SaaS safety and compliance platform, data integrity and verification practices, and standardized safety training programs empower leading organizations to drive safety and compliance into their supply chains and down to the worker-level.
Veriforce is the world’s premier supply chain risk performance network, comprising more than 750 hiring clients, more than 50,000 contracting companies, 9,000 accredited safety trainers and authorized evaluators, and over 2.5 million workers. It’s this network that makes Veriforce the preferred partner for companies that strive to ensure a safe, qualified third-party workforce, to stay ahead of risk, and achieve optimal business performance. Company offices are in Covington, LA; Houston, TX; Calgary, AB & Toronto, ON, Canada; and Pretoria, South Africa.
For more information, visit www.veriforce.com.