A&O advising on the creation of new Welsh mental health and substance misuse charity, Adferiad Recovery

The merger is effective from 1 April 2021 and will see the new charity combine the services provided by each of the existing charities for people with mental health problems, substance misuse problems, and those with co-occurring and complex needs. 

The four merging charities are:

• Adferiad Recovery CIO, based in South Wales and providing services for people with co-occurring mental health and substance misuse conditions and related issues. 

• CAIS, based in North Wales and providing substance misuse services, employment, mental health, and veterans’ services across Wales.

• Hafal, based in South Wales and supporting mental health service users, carers and other vulnerable groups across Wales.

• WCADA, based in South Wales and providing substance misuse services in Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend and the Public Prisons at Swansea, Cardiff, Usk and Prescoed.

The newly merged charity becomes one of the largest charities in Wales, with 18 trustees and 800 staff, providing services to around 20,000 people.  

Commenting on the merger, Allen & Overy corporate partner Peter Banks said: “It was a privilege to work with the trustees and executive teams of Adferiad Recovery’s founding charities to help navigate the merger process. For the A&O team involved, it has been hugely rewarding to contribute to ensuring that Adferiad Recovery is in a strong and resilient position to continue providing these vital support services in the years to come.” 

Alun Thomas, the new chief executive of Adferiad Recovery, added: “The charities that came together to form Adferiad Recovery have continued to provide critical support to some of the most vulnerable individuals during the pandemic. Knowing that we had such great a great legal team behind us meant that we were able to deliver both essential services to many thousands of beneficiaries and complete one of the most important charity partnerships for some years.”

The A&O team was led by corporate partner Peter Banks supported by associate Anthony Bowen and trainees Nicholas Hooper and Harriet Lister. Other team members were employment senior associate Hannah Crisp; real estate partner Emma Willoughby with senior associate Lucy Grey and associate Emily Robinson; pensions partner Andy Cork; IP Litigation partner David Stone with associate Andrea Leonelli and Belfast-based trademark paralegal Mark O’Connell; IP partner Nigel Parker with senior associate Adam Smith and Peerpoint consultant Stuart Grey; tax counsel Tim Harrop; and banking senior associate James Green with associate Adam Chambers and trainee Maya Sachdev.