The Legal 500

Bowling & Co is a market-leading adviser to owner-managed businesses, property companies, banks and private clients. The firm has two main aims: to deliver the best, client-centred advice and to create long-term relationships with its clients and contacts.

The firm: The firm ensures that its clients receive practical and commercially focused solutions with transparency on cost at every stage.

Types of work undertaken: Bowling & Co has specialist teams to advise clients across the following sectors: banking; healthcare; hotels, licensed premises and leisure; private client; real estate investment and development; risk management and regulation; and start-ups, entrepeneurs and growing businesses.

The firm sponsors websites which reflect this sector focus. These include www.pharmacyexpert.co.uk in the healthcare sector and www.willsondemand.co.uk for private clients.

Bowling & Co advises clients across the following disciplines:

Corporate: the firm’s corporate group advises on all aspects of private mergers, acquisitions and disposals. The group regularly advises on mergers and acquisitions, JVs, shareholders’ and partnership agreements, franchising, distribution and manufacturing contracts.

Real estate: the firm has a large real estate group dealing with commercial and residential real estate. The group has a strong practice in investment, development and property finance. The lawyers are supported by a dedicated property dispute resolution team, which regularly acts on development disputes, contested lease renewals, dilapidations claims, injunction applications and service charge disputes. The property finance unit acts for several major banks on business and property-backed acquisition finance and refinancing, as well as acting for borrowers.

Dispute resolution: the firm acts on all types of commercial disputes, from shareholders’ disputes to actions and claims for breach of contract. The dispute resolution team also handles insolvency and debt recovery actions in a cost-effective manner. The firm has mediation facilities and a panel of mediators who operate through the website www.imediation.co.uk. The employment team advises on engagement procedures, discrimination and equality, employers’ duties and disputed termination. Where agreed termination is concerned, the firm encourages clients to use www.mycompromiseagreement.com.

Private client: the firm retains a strong private client practice advising on personal tax arrangements and domicile, administering estates and dealing with contentious estates. The family law unit concentrates on ancillary relief cases and Family Law Act injunctions.

Breakdown of work %
Commercial, corporate and commercial real estate 40
Dispute resolution (commercial dispute resolution, insolvency and corporate recovery and property litigation) 30
Residential real estate 10
Private client 20

Number of UK partners 9
Number of other UK fee-earners 13