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Banking and finance

Eversheds LLP’s team is led by Philip Vaughan. It acted for Barclays in multimillion-pound lending facilities and for Morgan Stanley on mortgage portfolio sales. RBS and Lloyds are core clients.

Geldards LLP delivers a ‘consistently responsive service which demonstrates sector knowledge’. 
Practice head Karl Baranski provides ‘a commercial, prompt response and quality participation at 
meetings’, and Andrew Morris, who focuses on 
corporate finance, ‘approaches the task in hand in 
a calm and methodical manner’. The firm acted on Lloyds’ £20m acquisition funding for Brains Brewery, 
and Barclays Bank’s £50m lending to the WRU. Other clients include Finance Wales, Co-op Bank and Santander.

Hugh James’ team has ‘sector knowledge of a high standard’ and is led by ‘excellent lawyer’ Dominic Marshall. It acted for Santander on refinancings and Finance Wales on SME investments. Robert Morgan acted for the WRU/Millennium Stadium as borrowers to a multimillion-pound facility. Noted for his real estate finance expertise, Christopher Agius acts for Co-op Bank on high-value lendings.

M & A Solicitors LLP’s Beverley Jones advised AIM-listed IQE plc on a share issuance which raised £20.8m, and on a £6m investment into Cardiff City FC.

Morgan Cole ‘calls on various specialist teams to provide an all-round commercial solution’. It acted for HSBC and Lloyds on secured lending matters, and provided regulatory advice to Finance Wales, housing associations and building societies. Practice head Meryl Morgan ‘brings an additional commercial perspective to her role gained from working within the banking sector’.

A ‘forward-thinking practice’, Morgan LaRoche Limited provides ‘excellent professional, local knowledge’. Led by William Barletta, it acted for a private investor on SME and plc ventures, and has 
panel appointments to Principality, Nationwide and NatWest.

Insolvency and corporate recovery

Eversheds LLP acted for Grant Thornton as administrator of Welsh-based media production company Barfud, and advised Morgan Stanley on distressed mortgage portfolios, while other clients include Barclays and BNP Paribas. Philip Vaughan undertakes non-contentious insolvency matters.

Geldards LLP advises Finance Wales, and was instructed by Grant Thornton as administrator of All Natural Juice. Karl Baranski and Paul Hopkins handle non-contentious and contentious matters respectively, and Mike Jeffs handles property-related matters.

At Morgan Cole, licensed insolvency practitioner Paul Caldicott specialises in corporate recovery and restructuring, and leads a team whose recent work includes acting for administrators and LPA receivers on property-related matters. Clients include KPMG and Deloitte.

Capital Law LLP’s Duncan Macintosh leads a ‘focused and approachable’ team, with Philip Jones handling contentious aspects. It advises insolvency practitioners, private companies and individuals, and continued to act for Deloitte on the administration of DJ Litt Firearms. RSM Tenon Recovery is a new client.

Darwin Gray’s joint practice heads Ian Herbert and Kempton Rees lead on contentious work, where the team recently represented liquidators and private individuals. The practice also handles non-contentious matters.

Specialist practice Hunt & Morgan has strength on the contentious side, primarily serving insolvency practitioners in Cardiff, the South West and London. Matthew Hunt ‘provides accurate and timely advice’; and Dennis Morgan is ‘unbeatable in his ability to understand the nature of an issue and to move a case forward, by taking a fair-minded and pragmatic approach’. Mark Rostron advised on a High Court wrongful trading claim.

JCP Solicitors’ three-partner team is led by contentious insolvency specialist Gareth Llewellyn Williams. Michael Williams advises on restructurings, and Sarah Davies handles contentious property-related matters. Recent highlights for the practice include successfully challenging security obtained by a creditor.

At MLM Cartwright, commercial litigator Alex Pay acts for insolvency practitioners.

Berry Smith’s Nick Parker handles insolvency claims.

Gabb And Co’s key insolvency lawyer is Sophie Williams.

Senior associate Helen Tudball leads Harding Evans LLP’s specialised practice, acting for Deloitte and McAllister & Co among others. Recent work includes directors’ disqualification claims and a £1m-plus VAT-related claim.

Hugh James’ Robert Morgan and Richard Locke handle insolvency work. Morgan has acted for the WRU, Deloitte and Handelsbanken.

M & A Solicitors LLP advises companies, individuals and creditors. John Morris settled a seven-figure claim brought against a manufacturer.

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Legal Developments in the UK

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