Escrow services can be a cost-effective addition to corporate transactions where funds need to be held for a period of time following the completion of the transaction. Having worked with several top 200 law firms, the team at Riverside Escrow have provided escrow services on several corporate transactions, for example where deferred consideration, warranty retentions, or earnout funds are required to be held after completion.

Riverside Escrow was approached by a law firm whose client was reaching completion of a company acquisition. Their client was required by the sellers to set aside funds in relation to the sale of shares. The funds were to be held for a period of 12 months, at which point they would be released to the sellers (unless a warranty claim was made by the buyer in that period). The funds would also need to be made available to the buyer in the event of any liabilities arising after the completion of the company acquisition within that 12-month period. It was agreed between the parties that, to ensure availability of the funds for the duration of the 12 months, the funds would be placed in an escrow account.

Riverside Escrow drafted a bespoke agreement between the buyer and sellers with specific conditions, satisfying the requirements of both parties.

The acquisition completed successfully. Riverside Escrow was able to provide a cost and time effective service that provided reassurance to both parties. The seller was reassured that that the funds they were due to receive at the end of the 12-month period would remain available and could not be easily accessed by the buyer in that time, and the buyer was reassured that, should they incur any liabilities as a result of the seller’s actions pre-sale, the funds would be accessible to cover those liabilities.   

The process of setting up the escrow agreement took just 3 business days and Riverside Escrow were pleased to be able to support the specific needs of the client.