Compulsory Purchase
Quantification of business losses
Forensic accountants that deliver results
Vero Consulting - Forensic Accountants
Vero Consulting provides expert and authoritative analysis and opinions on the financial, accounting and tax implications of disputes and investigations.
Testimonials
Charles's reports are carefully prepared and supported by thorough research. I would not hesitate in recommending him for big money and complex matrimonial cases.
Charles has an astute legal mind which is firmly anchored in reality, enabling him to advise his clients on the best and most viable course of action
Your service is always impeccable!
We found his knowledge and understanding of the area to be highly professional and extremely competent, we were able to completely trust the advice he presented to us.
Recent Blogs
Are you or your client expecting a compulsory purchase order? Through city centre regeneration projects, and new road and railway investments, many businesses will face the impacts of compulsory purchase orders.
However, with careful planning it need not be devastating.
Understandably, a compulsory purchase order can affect some businesses more than others. Those where their location plays a vital role in winning customers or clients will need particular care.
Our experience shows that responding to a compulsory purchase order, when tackled correctly, can become a fantastic opportunity for any business and its owners, no matter what their next chapter will be.
There are two ways to look at a compulsory purchase order.
Some business owners look at themselves as a victim and assume their business is done for, or will forever feel the impact of forced relocation.
But for others, and by far the better approach is to look at a compulsory purchase order as an opportunity. By taking this approach, you will look at a compulsory purchase order as not only just another challenge but an opportunity to develop the business.
To get the maximum compensation you deserve from a compulsory purchase order, you will need an expert experienced in compulsory purchase compensation to help you.
Why do you need a compulsory purchase expert?
Engaging an expert in compulsory purchase orders early in the process will help you to make the most of the situation.
Compulsory purchase experts will confidently assess the value of a business and its potential, subject to a compulsory purchase order in court.
An expert will help ensure you are fairly and adequately compensated so you can move on to the next chapter of your business and life.
What should you look for in a compulsory purchase expert?
A compulsory purchase expert should have extensive experience in:
- Valuing businesses.
- Being an experienced expert witness in compulsory purchase hearings, and achieving favourable results for their clients in those hearings.
- Putting together and coordinating a team to assist in other areas of the hearing (typically, this would involve a lawyer and a surveyor, and possibly relevant industry experts).
To ensure the expert you hire meets these requirements, it is best to look for a member of the compulsory purchase association.
What can you get out of a compulsory purchase order?
There is every chance that following a prepared plan you will receive fair compensation from a compulsory purchase order and have the flexibility to adapt to the changing business environment, putting you in a better position than your competitors!
A famous case of this happening was that of H. Forman & Son, a third-generation salmon smoker. The business had to move to make way for the new London 2012 Olympic Park.
After a lengthy case that made it to the supreme court, (a rarity for compulsory acquisition orders), the business received a generous, but fair compensation deal, which allowed them to move into new and larger purpose built premises.
They were able to add a restaurant and a mail order business, which have become extremely successful arms for the company.
An excellent result for H. Forman & Son, but such a win isn’t the exception for valuable businesses.
We recently worked on a case involving a skip hire business.
Despite closing their business, they made the most of their compulsory purchase order
When this skip hire business was hit with a compulsory purchase order, they thought it meant the end of their business.
The owners were nearing retirement and had thought about what would come next for their business. The prospect of the compulsory purchase order threw everything into disarray.
The business had to close, leaving them with only a few hundred thousand pounds worth of assets. Like many businesses, their income came from the revenue those assets continually generated.
And retiring with only the value of their assets was not an option. They had worked too hard to leave the business with next to nothing. So they contacted experts to assess their options.
To determine an acceptable payout for the owners, based on the actual value of the business I was brought in to lead the team of experts.
We had a lawyer review the legal and commercial aspects of the business and a surveyor to determine the property value. We also enlisted an industry expert to assess the potential for their commercial activities to the local area.
To determine the value of the business, I looked at it through the lens of the revenue it could generate going forward, based on the resources available to them, and goodwill.
In the end, we were able to achieve a £multi-million compensation settlement- A tidy sum for the owners and more than enough for a comfortable retirement. Certainly a better result than walking away with only the value of their assets!
Maximise your compensation from a compulsory purchase order
If you are faced with a compulsory purchase order, you must explore your compensation options with a qualified expert.
Vero Consulting can help. We offer free consultations to businesses. Following our consultation, you will have an idea of the likely compensation you may be entitled to so you can move forward with that in mind.
So if you’d like compensation that reflects the real value of your business, get in contact with us today.
Our Services
We are highly skilled and qualified chartered accountants and expert witnesses that specialise in providing a wide range of forensic accounting, contentious business valuation and investigation services.
We provide the following services:
- Forensic Accounting Services
- Compulsory Purchase Compensation
- Commercial agency termination
- Business Valuations
- Financial and Fraud Investigations
- Financial Accountants for Divorce
- Expert Determination
- Insurance Claims – Loss of Profits
- Accountant Negligence Claims
- Commercial Disputes
- Litigation Support Services (русский)
We offer free consultations for all of the above services, to book one, get in contact with us.
Five year anniversary
Founded in May 2016 by senior members of Moore Stephens’ forensic accounting team, this award-winning firm has established its reputation as forensic investigators and expert witnesses specialising in insurance claims, contentious business valuations, commercial disputes, compulsory purchase, commercial agency valuations and matrimonial finances.
The team members have remained unchanged since its founding, which means the firm provides continuity to our clients and consistency from case to case.
Read More
A two-tiered Board or more professional directors?
Spectacular company failures are usually the catalyst for changes to company law. Familiar names such as BHS, Patisserie Valerie, Thomas Cook and Carillion have collapsed after auditors have given them a clean bill of health, even after significant frauds have remained undiscovered for many years. These led Sir John Kingman to call for FRC’s replacement by a stronger regulatory body (a new Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority) capable of enforcing higher audit standards in his report with 80+ recommendations for improvement. Read More
We have all seen an enormous increase in phishing emails since the start of the pandemic. For many of us our work involves multi £million dispute resolutions where clients expect communications to remain confidential or privileged. But many of us are still sending highly sensitive business information and bank account details in unencrypted emails.
A reminder of the dangers came from a rather surprising source recently. A client of ours received a letter from HM Revenue & Customs where they set out the risks associated with sending information to them in emails. In their letter HMRC warned the client that using unencrypted emails could lead to the following risks:
- Confidentiality and privacy – there’s a risk that emails set over the internet may be intercepted
- Confirming your identity – It’s crucial that communications are with established contacts at their correct email addresses
- They warn there is no guarantee that any email received over an insecure network, like the internet, has not been altered during transit
- Attachments could contain a virus or malicious code.
Their advice went on to suggest either “desensitising” information in emails or using encrypted emails.
The current global pandemic will continue to provide plenty of opportunities for fraud and opportunism. For example, there has been a substantial increase in phishing emails asking for either passwords, or inviting us to open attachments or to click on links.
Perhaps fraudsters are responding to the fact that many of us are currently working from home on personal computers rather than office machines. This means we are operating outside corporate secure systems and procedures that we would have in the office.
Please now remind yourself and colleagues of the risks of doing so. We encourage all our clients to avoid including sensitive information in unencrypted emails, to password protect documents and memory sticks they send us and not to include bank account details in unencrypted emails.
While on this subject, we also need to check the urls of the sites we browse. Google say there are currently over 2 million phishing websites. Google’s Transparent Report contains up-to-date statistics and a tool for checking whether a site is safe (http://tiny.cc/safe-browsing).
In summary, we need to check the url of sites we visit, only open emails from trusted sources, encrypt sensitive emails, documents and memory sticks, use password managers and a VPN to access office files when working remotely.
What precautions do your organisations recommend and do you use encrypted emails for sensitive communications? Please share your own experiences in the comments box below or in an email to us. We would love to hear your thoughts and experience.
Keep Safe everyone,
Charles Lazarevic