Sale of the contract (assignment) at any time

The contractor must seek and obtain Departments' permission if the contract, or part of the contract, is to be sold on

Sale of control by sale of shares in first three years of contract signature

The contractor must seek and obtain Departments' permission which is at the Departments' absolute discretion

Sale of control by sale of shares three years after contract signature

Departments may withhold permission under certain limited circumstances, for example, if the new shareholders are based in a country which is subject to economic sanctions imposed by the UK government