With the aim of improving the rights of redress against those responsible for unsatisfactory workmanship carried out to a dwelling (whether professional consultants, contractors or developers), s.135 of the Building Safety Act 2022 substantially extends the limitation period set by the Limitation Act 1980 for claims under the Defective Premises Act 1972.

The 2022 Act has achieved this by inserting a new section (4B) into the Limitation Act 1980.

This extends limitation as follows:

1. For dwellings due to be completed on and after 28 June 2022, the period of limitation is extended prospectively from 6 to 15 years.
2. For dwellings completed before 28 June 2022, the period of limitation is extended retrospectively from 6 to 30 years.

While there are safeguards in place to ensure fairness in the application of this extended limitation, in practice those businesses and professionals with a history of constructing or advising on the construction of dwellings ought to take due care when it comes to retaining records and updating their document retention policies accordingly.

Old projects — where the risk was previously considered to have expired — should now be reassessed and professionals should look to re-evaluate their liability under historic contracts and warranties against any insurance provision they may have in place.

Different funding groups will have diverging views on investment and involvement in your business.

When starting out, the key is to take a step back. Ask yourself why you need the funds, what you’re trying to achieve and what timeframe you’re working to. Prepare thorough forecasts that show the strength of the opportunity (and that you understand and have addressed the risks). Then look for funders that match your personal and business requirements. Search broadly — don’t just turn to the obvious investors that you know.

This seems all so simple, but many people that seek investment skip this critical step. 

The funder(s) you choose should align with how your business operates. This might mean working with more than one type of funder to achieve the best possible outcome.

If you’re too flexible with your strategy and flex it purely to suit the requirements of a particular funder, you’re already on the back foot. This creates an artificial position that could unwind after you receive the funds, leading to a dissatisfied lender and — ultimately — a dissatisfied borrower (that’s you).

We have an extensive network of funders and will take time to find the right partner for your business.

Many scenarios call for the expertise, experience, tenacity and instinct of a deal advisor, including:

• Initial thoughts of a transaction.
• Buyer has approached but you don’t know what to do.
• You have a strategy in place but don’t know how to enact.
• Considering your exit from the business.
• Need to prepare a business valuation.
• A member of your management team has approached you to buy the business.
• You’re looking to buy the business that you work in.
• You’re looking to move premises or purchase a large asset or other significant CapEx purchase that requires external funding.
• You simply don’t know what to do and want advice to get a strategy in place.

If you approach us early on in any of the above scenarios, we can guide you through the entire process to completion.

If you’re looking for the right business to launch a management buy-in, need advice on how to launch a management buy-out or are looking for specialist support on a range of other complex corporate transactions such as corporate acquisitions or disposals, our experienced deal advisory team can help.