Corporate and commercial: Liverpool in North West

Brabners LLP

Brabners LLP draws considerable praise from clients for its ‘focused and commercial’ approach. The team is well-positioned to advise on the full scope of corporate and commercial work, including M&A, group organisations, private equity, contracts, e-commerce and data protections matters. The practice is jointly steered by Mark Rathbone and Richard Hough. Rathbone is noted for his expertise in the media, tech, supply chain and logistics and renewables sectors, while Hough is a commercial contracts and healthcare specialist. Elsewhere in the team, Andrew O’Mahony heads the firm’s banking and finance team and handles a considerable amount of private equity and finance work. Colin Bell advises on IP strategies, commercial contracts, licensing arrangements and data protection matters, while Rupert Gill provides M&A advice to corporates, AIM-listed companies and registered providers of social housing. A litany of charities and social enterprises turn to David Maples for advice on governance and constitutional issues, while John Spofforth handles issues relating to both national and international corporate transactions. Other names to note include managing partner Nik White, Nicola Lomas, who specialises in the sale and acquisition of dental practices, and Victoria Trigwell. Michael Brabner is also recommended.

Responsables de la pratique:

Mark Rathbone; Richard Hough


Autres avocats clés:

Nicola Lomas; Colin Bell; David Maples; Victoria Trigwell; Andrew O’Mahony; Daniel Hayhurst; Michael Brabner


Les références

‘The team at Brabners are always happy to explain legal terms and intricacies to me in lay language so that I can clearly understand, and they don’t mind if I ask basic questions (even if I’ve asked them before!)’

‘Very client focused and commercial approach.’

‘John Spofforth is approachable and pragmatic in his commercial advice.’

Principaux clients

Commonwealth Games Federation


Neuven Solutions Limited


UKE Home Solutions Limited


Aspire Scientific Limited


MSite


Peel Ports Group


Yodel Delivery Network


Parcel2Go


Proact International Limited


Henry Bath & Son Limited


Medtrade Products Ltd


James Hall & Company Ltd (SPAR)


Parasol Ltd


Group Tyre UK Ltd


NWF Group plc


Open Outdoor Media Ltd


Cityheart Ltd


Innox Trading Ltd


GoJoe App Limited


Sinara Consultants Limited


Veka Plc


Chartersync Ltd


Travel Counsellors Limited


Lucid Games Ltd


Corgi Services Ltd


Biograd Limited


Cobalt Housing


Nanosun Ltd


Oneday Ltd


Vascular Perspectives


Terminal Investment Limited Sarl


Atlas Copco Limited


River Capital


Mercia Asset Management


British Swimming


The Royal Parks Limited


Suez Recycling and Recovery UK Ltd


Bikmo Limited


Bleasdale Estates Ltd


The Estate Dairy Ltd


Evoke Creative Limited


Bikmo Limited


DAR Industrial Trucks Ltd


Principaux dossiers


  • Providing ongoing legal support to the Commonwealth Games Federation as they prepare for the 2026 and 2030 games.
  • Advising the shareholders of Lucid Entertainment Group Ltd on a sale to North American based Lightspeed Studios.
  • Advising MPE Group Ltd on the sale of its trading subsidiary, MPE Ltd, to the NYSE listed Esco Technologies.

DLA Piper UK LLP

Operating across a number of sectors, including, but not limited to life sciences, manufacturing, public, tech and infrastructure, the corporate and commercial team at DLA Piper UK LLP manages a steady stream of deals for a diverse portfolio of clients. James Kerrigan oversees the practice alongside Sarah Bell; Kerrigan is noted for his focus on the private equity space, while Bell specialises in joint ventures and multi-million-pound outsourcing and commercial transactions. Peter Brook regularly advises on supply, agency, distribution, outsourcing, joint ventures and collaboration agreements, and Paddy Dwyer stands out for his expertise in commercial contracts.

Responsables de la pratique:

James Kerrigan; Sarah Bell


Autres avocats clés:

Peter Brook; Paddy Dwyer


Principaux clients

Arvato Group


Duracell


Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council


Liverpool Football Club


Suttons Group


UK Government (Cabinet Office, DfT, UK Research and Innovation {Natural Environment Research Council}, DWP and Pensions, Crown Commercial Services, DEFRA, DCMS, BEIS, HMRC, FCDO, the Disclosure and Barring Service)


Unilever


Sciontec


The Contact Company


Elite Telecom plc


The Advanta Group Limited


Sonova UK Limited


Suttons Group Limited


Elan Homes Limited


Keoghs LLP


John Laing Investments Limited


Elite Telecom plc


Principaux dossiers


  • Advising on many commercial contracts for the UK government.
  • Advised Liverpool based Joloda Hydraroll Group Limited, a BGF backed business, on its acquisition of a majority interest in a Finnish company.
  • Advised the Cabinet Office in the UK on corporate and commercial aspects of the sale of its stake in Shared Services Connected Ltd.

Hill Dickinson LLP

Praised as ‘approachable and responsive’, the team at Hill Dickinson LLP is equipped to navigate a wide spectrum of high-value corporate transactions, ranging from mid-market private equity to cross-border work for local and international companies. Practice head Matt Noon is a key port of call for public companies, private companies, entrepreneurs and institutional investors seeking advice on M&A transactions. Mike Jones is recommended for his expertise in the retail, logistics, leisure and property sectors, while Jonathan Brown regularly receives large corporate instructions from listed clients. Elsewhere, Sue Russell maintains a strong M&A practice, handling both public company and private company transactional work, and Craig Scott is routinely instructed by large corporates and private equity investment funds. Other notable individuals include private equity specialist Michael Murphy and Elan Iorwerth.

Responsables de la pratique:

Matt Noon


Autres avocats clés:

Craig Scott; Jonathan Brown; Mike Jones; Sue Russell; Elan Iorwerth


Les références

‘Approachable and responsive.’

‘They have a practical approach to getting the task done. Also proactive with other advisors.’

‘Partner-led so that each new project can hit the ground running. Well connected in the industry and respected.’

Principaux clients

Fishawack Health / Avalere Health


Tactus Holdings Limited


Challenge-TRG Group


Richard Baker Harrison Limited


Bromborough Paint & Building Supplies Limited


Downing Students


Broadway Partners Limited


DPRS Liverpool Limited


Barber of Sheffield


Mercia Asset Management and Enterprise Ventures Growth Fund


Nkt Group A/S


Redde Northgate Plc


Kuehne + Nagel Limited


Iceland Foods Ltd


MSS Group


Millen Capital


Principaux dossiers


  • Acted for Downing Students on the sale of two purpose-built student accommodation assets to IQ Student Accommodation (a Blackstone portfolio company) for £344m.
  • Acted for Johnson Service Group plc in its acquisition of Harkglade Limited and its subsidiaries Celtic Linen Limited and Millbrook Linen Limited for €31.5 million (£27.1 million).
  • Acted for Hedgehog Lab Holdings Limited in an investment by BGF into Hedgehog Lab Holdings Limited and the acquisition by Hedgehog Lab Holdings Limited of Hedgehog Lab Limited and Netsells Limited for a transaction value of £6.3m.

DWF

DWF enjoys a strong reputation in the retail sector, acting for a host of leading domestic and international clients. The team earns further praise for its experience in M&A, management buy-outs and shareholder matters. Darren Walsh has specialist expertise in solar PV and battery storage, bioenergy, anaerobic digestion, district heating, tidal and green hydrogen production. Rachael Burke regularly advises clients on commercial contracts, and Liz Clark is noted for her focus on corporate matters. Paul Rimmer is also recommended.

Responsables de la pratique:

Liz Clark; Darren Walsh; Rachael Burke


Autres avocats clés:

Paul Rimmer


Les références

‘The team always go out of their way to explain the detail and check understanding. They manage both their time and our expectations extremely well. They have always achieved our objectives.’

Principaux clients

Inflexion Private Equity Partners


Sciris Group


Superbike Factory Group


Wynnstay Group Plc


PhD Industrial Holdings


O’Neill Patient Solicitors (trading as Movera Group)


Growth Partner


BGF Investments LP


Prefequity


IWG PLC


Sustainable Building Services (UK) Limited


Baird Group (Holdings) Limited


Barnett Waddingham LLP


HHGL Limited (T/A Homebase)


ACC Liverpool Limited


Marks and Spencer plc


KP Snacks Limited


Principaux dossiers


  • Advised Inflexion and the management shareholders on the £250m sale of North West-based software business, Mobica, to US-based, NASDAQ-listed business, Cognizant.
  • Advised BGF on its follow-on investment into Evoke Creative, a Wirral-based interactive touchscreen kiosk maker.
  • Acted for Growth Partner on its £15 million investment in Passenger Clothing, the outdoor clothing brand.

CG Professional Limited

Praised for its 'great collaborative approach', the 'very flexible' corporate team at CG Professional Limited is experienced across a number of sectors, including sports and media, healthcare, construction, retail and tech. Thomas Prince is a key port of call for local clients seeking assistance in various aspects of contract work. He co-heads the team alongside Jennifer Gallagher, who is experienced in international M&A transactions, strategic investments, capital structures, corporate reorganisations, shareholders agreements and implementing joint venture structures.

Responsables de la pratique:

Thomas Prince; Jennifer Gallagher


Autres avocats clés:

Surayya Munshi


Les références

‘Have a real understanding of our business helping drive forward work with real impact.’

‘Surayya Munshi has taken real efforts to get to understand our business.’

‘CG are professional, timely in responding, and will solution any issue. They also have a great network to introduce us to other services outside of legal.’

Principaux clients

Shareholders of Insignia Sports International Limited


ESG Global (Energy) Limited


Tatti Lashes


MDS Healthcare Limited


depotnet Limited


Careium Group


Models 1


Blends Limited & Blends Flavours and Colours Limited


CRE8 Digital Media Limited


University of Liverpool


Avrenim Group


Oxley Developments Limited


Hippo Motor Group


Product Care Group


The Production Factory Group


Wild Thang


Principaux dossiers


  • Advised the shareholders of Insignia Sports International Limited on its sale to TGI Sport.
  • Advised ESG Global (Energy) Limited on a retained basis in connection with its full portfolio of customer contracts.
  • Advising Blends Group in connection with all of its day-to-day commercial contract and corporate law needs.

DTM Legal LLP

Lauded for its ‘attention to detail’, the corporate and commercial team at DTM Legal LLP handles corporate restructuring, IP and M&A matters, acting for a mix of banks, wealth management firms and corporates. Leading the practice is Edward Barnes, who stands out for his specialism in domestic and international joint ventures, advising UK owner-managed businesses, large corporates and foreign companies. Philip Whitehurst is noted for his expertise in the private equity and venture capital investment spaces.

Responsables de la pratique:

Edward Barnes


Autres avocats clés:

Philip Whitehurst


Les références

‘They take the time to ensure they understand the individual situation in front of them rather than applying a generic approach.’

‘Attention to detail and appreciation of the client’s wider objectives.’

‘Phil Whitehurst is just great. Always available and constantly looking after our best interests. He has a great team around him.’

Principaux clients

Evoke Creative Limited


Esterform Packaging Limited


Safeguard Europe Limited


Vast Visibility Limited


Heap & Partners Limited


Marine Specialised Technology Limited


Typhoo Tea Limited


Karl Vella Group Limited


Future Moto Limited


Staffords Limited


79th Group Limited


Cream T Pickups Limited


Tarka Spring Limited


Soundtesting Limited


JSM Company Group Limited


Brand Box International Limited


Evolution Costs Limited


Lewis Reed (WAV) Limited


Smylie Limited


Whole House Ventilation Services Limited


Formwork Direct International Ltd


Ellesey and Company (Lancs) Limited


Atom Scientific Limited


Airship Images Limited


Maes Dolau Caravan Park Limited


Cambria Caravan Park Limited


Esterpet Limited


Hood Seating Limited


Two Mills Asset Management Limited


Clancy Consulting Limited


Wayne Austin IFA Limited


L51 Developments Limited


Daulby Read Limited


LimeSky Investment Partners Limited


Charles Owen Group


Proteus Facades Limited


Principaux dossiers


  • Represented Esterform Packaging Limited on its restructure.
  • Acting for Fledglings in relation to its sale to Kids Planet.
  • Acting for the shareholders and company in relation to a strategic merger of Musker & Garrett chartered accountants and Williamson & Croft.

Napthens LLP

Rated for its ‘excellent communication‘, the ‘knowledgable’ team at Napthens LLP advises a mix of owner-managed businesses, family companies and large corporates on the full scope of corporate transactions, including M&A, buy and build strategies, business and share disposals, and succession planning. Practice head Kieran Donovan draws the following praise from clients: ‘highly experienced and understands the local landscape very well.’

Responsables de la pratique:

Kieran Donovan


Autres avocats clés:

Gareth McIntegart


Les références

‘Friendly, knowledgeable team, excellent communication. A very smooth transition in selling our business. Very happy with their advice and implementation. Highly recommend.’

‘Kieran Donovan led the team, all of whom are simply excellent.’

‘The team specialises in corporate transactions, and is very strong in the small to mid-market space. The people are strong and there is a can-do culture. Very capable, reliable and timely.’

Principaux clients

Applied Nutrition Limited


Shaw Energi Limited


Joloda Hydraroll Limited


River Capital Management Limited


Darkhorse Design Limited


Elitetele.com Plc


Heritage Great Britain Plc


Abbey Logistics Group Limited


Liverpool Media Academy Limited


GBM Digital Technologies Limited


Krol Corlett Construction Group


Alpha Cars (Liverpool) Limited


NPIF NW Equity LP


Maven Capital Partners UK LLP


YFM Equity Partners


DSG Chartered Accountants


BWM Chartered Accountants


Tipografic Limited


Braithwaite Property Company Limited


JK Property Holding Limited


Solen Energy


Deva Group Holdings Limited


Form Leadership Limited


Mersey Forwarding Limited


Finer Engineering Limited


Principaux dossiers


  • Advised Alpha Cars Limited t/a Alpha Taxis on its buy and build strategy in 2023.
  • Advised the shareholders of Ardent Credit Services Ltd on the sale of the entire share capital to US acquirer Phillips & Cohen Associates.
  • Advised the Liverpool-based £250 million turnover business, Standard Fuel Oils, in its acquisition of River Marine Fuels.

Weightmans LLP

Weightmans LLP houses a ‘really helpful, pragmatic and commercial’ team, noted for its expertise in private equity, M&A, data protection and IT matters. The practice is routinely engaged by a host of blue-chip clients, entrusted with advising on a steady stream of transactions. Both Seray Kitchingman and Tom Trowhill lead the practice, and between them specialise in a range of corporate and commercial issues. Gary Jones  handles shareholders agreements, mergers and acquisitions, MBOs, joint ventures, private equity, fundraising and AIM flotations.

Responsables de la pratique:

Seray Kitchingman; Tom Trowhill


Autres avocats clés:

Laurence Pritchard; Gary Jones; Michael Murphy


Les références

‘Really helpful, pragmatic and commercial.’

‘Michael Murphy was great, knowledgeable, quick to turn information around, commercial, and helpful in approach – which was needed to get the deal done.’

Principaux clients

S. Norton & Co. Limited


TuffX Processed Glass Limited


George Roberts (North West) Limited


Apadmi Group Limited


HiSpec Electrical Products Limited


River Capital


Foresight Group LLP


Avanite


LDC


Meade King Robinson


Sonoco


Goonhilly Earth Station Limited


Marpol Security Limited


HealthNet Homecare UK Limited


Melitta


Medela AG


British Insurance Brokers’ Association


Hardwood Limited


Principaux dossiers


  • Advised River Capital on its investment in Barons (Fylde Coast) Supplies Limited.
  • Advised Foresight Group on their investment in RS Industrial Services.
  • Advised Sonoco UK Limited on agreement in relation to new contractual terms with Holland’s Pies.