Law firm advises on YMCAs merger

Law firm Bevan Brittan has advised on the merger of two YMCAs in the Midlands to form a new organisation – YMCA Heart of England.

YMCA Birmingham and YMCA Coventry & Warwickshire have formally joined together after two years of working in partnership.

YMCA Heart of England will continue to deliver local services to young people and communities, using the familiar trading names YMCA Birmingham and YMCA Coventry & Warwickshire – drawing on a combined experience of over 300 years of supporting young people.

Sarah Greenhalgh, senior associate at Bevan Brittan, said: “YMCA has a proud history here in the Midlands, and so we were delighted to have provided legal and strategic advice to its leadership and Boards at this important time in the charity’s development. Together, they now have an extensive portfolio of accommodation and youth services. We are pleased that the merger will enable the charity to achieve its ambitions.”

YMCA Heart of England is part of a national YMCA Federation that is the largest and oldest youth charity in the world.

YMCA Heart of England chief executive, Alan Fraser, said: “We were very pleased to have the support of Bevan Brittan in working closely with YMCA through this important process to secure the merger of YMCA Birmingham and YMCA Coventry Warwickshire.

“We have already been sharing back office functions and executive leadership for two years and we have made significant efficiencies in our operations by doing so. Our intention now is to start expanding our local service offers across the whole area of Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry and Warwickshire so that we can deliver more and better services to young people and communities.

“The merger will make us stronger than either association would have been individually, and so better able to maintain our stability in these challenging times. That meant it was important for us to complete the merger promptly, but we recognised that it also had to be done diligently.

“When we started this process we simply had no idea of all the things we had to do, so the support of Sarah and the experienced team at Bevan Brittan was absolutely vital. Their expertise was invaluable in reassuring both sets of trustees that they were in safe hands.”