As companies seek to maximise share-holder value, there is ever greater pressure to both reduce costs and improve quality of service throughout the supply chain.

This has led to increasing complexity in terms of the commercial, legal and cultural issues companies face in establishing, running and terminating outsourcing arrangements. It has also led companies to look to lower cost jurisdictions to resource their non-core business functions.

Our outsourcing and offshoring group has a wealth of experience in advising clients on how best to structure and manage offshoring arrangements. Such experience includes advising on the commercial, tax and legal considerations in setting up a contractual and management structure with third-party suppliers and advising on the latest legal developments and regulatory issues in countries throughout Europe and in the key offshoring destinations. In addition to the core contractual advice required, we also have a team of specialists who are able to advise on any HR, pensions and tax structuring problems that may arise in an offshoring deal and, where appropriate, the establishment of special purpose vehicles to deal with funding and VAT issues.