Clairfield advise on the sale of Living Life to Silver Birch Care
Clairfield has advised Living Life, t/a The Banyan Tree, a high-acuity children’s care and young adults therapeutic residential care provider, on its merger with Silver Birch Care Holdings (“SBCHL”). Living Life was founded in 2001 by Lorraine Andrews Miller and Paul Miller. With headquarters in Northampton, it is one of the preeminent providers of children services in its region.
Silver Birch Care Holdings are a family-run provider of high-quality education, care and support to children and young people. The group comprises of Silver Birch Care, The Beeches, and Silver Birch Care (Residential Services). Collectively, they have 55 homes across the UK, as well as a specialist school in Peterborough. They work in partnership with 37 local authorities and county councils and have built up an outstanding reputation with nearly 20 years of combined experience in the semi-independent and residential childcare sectors. Living Life adds a specialist organisation to Silver Birch’s already impressive provision.
Karim Lalani, CEO of Silver Birch, shared his excitement about the acquisition: “Having had the privilege of getting to know Lorraine and Paul, it quickly became clear that our core values were well aligned; particularly commitment to ‘kaizen’ (continuous improvement), and dedication to improving the lives of young people. We are honoured to be chosen as the new custodians of the business Lorraine and Paul have built over the last 23 years and look forward to working together to ensure The Banyan Tree continues to flourish as part of the SBCHL family.”
Lorraine Miller, CEO of Living Life, expressed enthusiasm about the merger: “Having developed the business over the last 23 years, we were committed to merging with a business which had the same high standards. In Silver Birch we have found an organisation that shares our determination to provide the highest quality of service where children and young people thrive.”
Lorraine Miller also added, “Clairfield truly understood our business and the kind of partner we wanted to merge with. The Clairfield team were extremely supportive throughout the process and provided commercial and practical advice. Their understanding of the healthcare sector was fantastic and helped achieve the result we wanted.”
Clairfield worked closely with Living Life to understand shareholder requirements and prepare the business for a merger that provides the right strategic and cultural fit for the benefit of the children and young people in care along with the existing team. Our strong understanding of the sector enabled a clear identification of an organisation which met these requirements and enabled us to deliver a highly successful outcome. The Clairfield team was led by Partner, Shah Zaki and Manager, Liam Hadfield.
Shah Zaki added, “I am delighted we were able to meet the personal objectives of Lorraine and Paul and the overall result achieved. This transaction further enhances our extensive credentials in the specialist healthcare sector.”
Legal advice to the shareholders of Living Life was provided by Thursfields, led by Partner Tim Edwards and Senior Associate Reece De-Vaney.