Our Due Diligence Service on schools joining a Multi Academy Trust

With over one third of schools in England now converted to academy status, the Department for Education requires more schools to work together in Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) to build economies of scale and resilience, in the face of significant funding pressures. If you run an existing MAT and are considering acquiring a new school or even merging with another MAT, or if you are a school contemplating joining a MAT, you will need to carry out due diligence properly to discharge your duty as a governor, trustee or accounting officer, as appropriate.

“Effective due diligence takes place before the MAT agrees to a school joining the trust. This means the trust fully understands all the risks, assets, and liabilities they would take on, and either put appropriate plans in place, or decide that it is not appropriate for the school to join..” – ‘Multi Academy Trusts – Good Practice Guidance and Expectations for Growth’, Dept for Education, December 2016.

Our new due diligence service provides independent assurance
before undertaking an acquisition or merger.

What is ‘due diligence’?

How can we help?

Due diligence is the process by which the parties involved gather information about each other to ensure the integration process proceeds smoothly. In particular, it is used to identify risks, liabilities, cultural differences, operational and practical issues which could cause difficulties later. Due diligence is a vital part of any acquisition of schools into a MAT or a merger of two or more MATs. Handled sensitively and proactively, it can lay the foundations for creating genuine ‘marriage value’ by allowing each party to get to know each other, explore the respective strengths and weaknesses of the other and find real opportunities to improve the life chances and attainment of pupils across all the schools involved.

Read our guidance on due diligence here.

Our fixed price EduDiligence™ service has been developed by educational, financial and legal experts to provide a speedy independent assurance to executive leaders, governors and trustees of academy trusts and schools before undertaking an acquisition or merger.

Our highly experienced team will examine all the key areas of operations and risk so you can be confident you know what you are taking on. We use a tried and tested review framework delivered by a multi-disciplinary team of educational, financial, legal and governance specialists.

Find out more today – download the brochure

Contact us

You may be interested in…

What our clients say

Mark provides clear and responsive commercial advice. He identifies the key areas of risk for our business and provides practical solutions.
Elderflower Legal has helped us to manage commercial risks and resolve problems quickly and effectively. Mark’s approach is to ‘roll up his sleeves’ and provide practical support, rather than legal theory.
Jason Pickford, Owner, Digital Transcendent Limited
Elderflower Legal has helped us to manage commercial risks and resolve problems quickly and effectively. Mark’s approach is to ‘roll up his sleeves’ and provide practical support, rather than legal theory.
Mark provides clear and responsive commercial advice. He identifies the key areas of risk for our business and provides practical solutions.