Case studies
When corporate information outsourcing specialists Williams Lea needed to simplify their company structure, they brought in GSC to advise on what needed to be done, and then lead the implementation of that plan.
The whole process is expected to take around two years, with GSC taking charge of making the necessary changes and ensuring the official paperwork and legal notices are dealt with correctly.
Financial Controller Kim Pearson said: “GSC provided us with advice on how to strike off a number of legal entities which were no longer required. Some of their recommendations required actions on our part, and the rest they just went away and dealt with.
“The process is still ongoing as some of the required actions are quite complex, but overall we’ve been very happy with the service provided.
“Michael Braham Is what I’d call an ‘old head’ in the nicest possible way – he’s a financial accountant who has been around a while, understands the issues involved for a company like ours and has a good deal of relevant experience in the area we’re dealing with.
“They took care of all the paperwork and legal notices and, where action was required on our part, they advised us on what steps we had to take and when, making the process as hassle-free as possible for us."
Morgan Sindall is one of the UK’s leading construction and regeneration groups, working on a variety of public and private-sector contracts, with an annual turnover of £2.2billion.
The group is split into several companies, dealing with different aspects of the business, but an internal restructuring in 1998 left the firm with a number of dormant companies which were no longer needed
Deputy company secretary Clare Sheridan said: “GSC carried out the due diligence on the companies we wanted struck off and dealt with the associated documentation and business plans. The whole process took about two months and GSC made it very easy for us, doing everything they said they would do.
“When we had some more striking off that we wanted doing in 2004, we used GSC again because we were pleased with what they had done before. We would be happy to recommend them to anyone else who needs to carry out a restructuring of their company.”
The UK arm of global postal giant DHL first brought in the team from GSC around ten years ago, when they were known as Exel and still an independent plc. Since then GSC has been a regular partner of the firm, keeping its structure up to date on an ongoing basis, deleting around 150 companies so far.
Company secretary Jane Sargeant said: “When we contacted GSC, our group structure had over 300 companies in the UK alone and it was a huge task to keep track of everything.
“We wanted to bring in some experts that could project manage the whole process, who had the specialist knowledge to ensure nothing was missed and could understand a group structure as complex as ours.
“GSC had worked with some very big clients so we knew they were capable of handling the situation and we weren’t disappointed – they did everything we asked of them initially and have continued to do a good job since.
“We keep in regular contact, either with us identifying parts of the company that need restructuring, or with them suggesting ideas on how we can simplify things – it is very much a partnership between us.
“We’re very happy with them – they’re professional and thorough and they understand our group very well. We trust them completely, and when you are outsourcing any part of your company, that is the most important requirement.
“We have recommended them to several other companies and we’ve been happy to do so because of the good job they have done for us.”