DWF is the first choice for many public authorities when it comes to drafting and negotiating Grant Funding Agreements (GFAs), including programmes of Grant Funding Agreements. DWF incorporates a specialist “Grants Centre of Excellence” precisely to focus on this area and deliver “best in class service on all aspects of developing and concluding practical and effective GFAs and equivalent legal instruments. Including sub0-commercial loans and/or equity investments.

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Why should you instruct DWF to draft and negotiate your Grant Funding Agreements?

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DWF is often an automatic choice because our large, specialist team (the Grants Centre of Excellence) has the focus, experience and expertise to deliver your objectives quickly and efficiently, alongside a market leading Subsidy Control (and State aid) practice to resolve the usually related issue for all grants and programmes of how to handle the subsidy position.

Our lawyers have experience of advising on £/€ billions of awards of public funding in the last decade. This includes drafting and negotiating GFAs for Government Departments, Local Government, Universities and many other organisations involved in administering public funds, while similarly advising many beneficiaries on receipt of funds, including manufacturers, developers and charities, and multi-nationals and SMEs.

Our exceptional experience means we can offer a tailored service which focuses on the needs of the clients in each case. This includes considering relevant powers, Subsidy Control and State aid issues, public procurement requirements and managing potential risks.

Fundamentally, DWF is passionate about supporting the Public Sector and those working with it, and is proud to be the first choice for many public authorities when it comes to drafting and negotiating Grant Funding programmes and individual agreements. This includes managing disputes arising out of historic grant funding agreements including claims for clawback or withholding of payments, and includes familiarity with many of the different programme regimes such as the EU Structural Funds (ESIF).

The specialist GFA team at DWF stands out because combined with our market leading Subsidy Control expertise, our lawyers proactively manage the Grant Funding Agreement process on your behalf with the minimum of fuss – we get the deal done, within your timescales, whilst protecting public funding and ensuring the beneficiaries have the right incentives to achieve what they set out to achieve and thereby to meet the public policy objectives of the funder.

DWF includes one of has the UK’s leading Government & Public Sector practices within which the Grants Centre of Excellence can assist with all elements of the Grant Funding process. This includes designing structures to best demonstrate compliance, as well as Subsidy Control and creating contracts that protect public money effectively, while giving the beneficiaries sufficient room to deliver the public policy objectives concerned with suitable incentives.

If you need specialist advice on any part of the public funding process, then please get in touch.

Case studies

Recent examples of Grant Funding Agreements DWF’s specialist GFA team have worked upon include:

advising one of the largest UK Government Departments on updating its suite of grant funding agreements;
negotiating major grant funding award with Government Department on behalf of a private beneficiaries in order to deliver significant inward investment projects;
advising a Combined Authority on the creation of a first-of-its-kind individual subsidy scheme to deliver a grant funding programme and referring the same to the Competition & Markets Authority for a decision prior to adoption of the scheme;
advising on the creation of a financial instrument for a Combined Authority and subsequently updating the fund as a result of its success;
advising Government departments on the design and delivery of new subsidy schemes to guide nationwide programmes of funding for particular sectors (including related scheme referral to the Competition & Markets Authority)
advising three Combined Authorities on the delivery of their Brownfield Housing Fund programmes, including managing Subsidy Control compliance; and
flow down agreements for Central Government funding relating to environmental grants which had to be simultaneously negotiated with multiple local government bodies.

Recent examples of Grant Funding Agreements DWF’s specialist GFA team have worked upon include:

advising one of the largest Government Departments on updating its suite of grant funding agreements;
negotiating a major grant funding award with a Government Department no behalf of a private beneficiary;
advising a Combined Authority on the creation of an individual subsidy scheme for the purposes of delivering a grant funding programme and referring the same to the Competition & Markets Authority for a decision prior to adoption of the scheme;
advising on the creation of a financial instrument for a Combined Authority and subsequently updating the fund as a result of its success;
advising two Combined Authorities on the delivery of their Brownfield Housing Fund programmes, including managing Subsidy Control compliance; and
flow down agreements for Central Government funding relating to environmental grants which had to be simultaneously negotiated with multiple local government bodies.