The Legal 500 UK 2020 > London > Corporate and commercial > Equity capital markets – small-mid cap recommended Law firms, Lawyers

Rising stars

1
- Tom Coulter - Travers Smith LLP
- Karin Kirschner - DLA Piper

Spread across the firm's UK network, Addleshaw Goddard's public companies team is well placed to handle placings and takeover transactions involving AIM-listed companies around the country. Though the department was involved in one of 2018's largest AIM IPOs, the takeovers practice in particular is perhaps the team's strong point; not only was the firm involved in the largest takeover of an AIM-quoted company in 2018, but with four former Takeover Panel secondees among its legal staff, it is also a trusted adviser to the takeovers regulator. Nick Pearey is a name to note, and Giles Distin is 'a rare example of a true corporate lawyer with real expertise in AIM rules and Takeover Code issues'.

Practice head(s):Nick Pearey

Other key lawyers:Giles Distin; Simon Wood; Richard Lee; Roger Hart

Testimonials

'Good balance between an in-depth knowledge of the technical aspects and a general commercial pragmatism.'

'Addleshaw Goddard is a very good firm ideally suited to complex transactions for smaller companies.'

Key Clients

Numis Securities Limited

Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited

Strand Hanson Limited

B. P Marsh

Panmure Gordon

Peel Hunt LLP

Piper Jaffray Ltd

Investec Bank plc

Accrol Group Holdings plc

Zeus Capital

Clinigen Group plc

Berenberg (Joh. Berenberg , Gossler & Co. KG)

4D Pharma plc

N+1 Singer

Cenkos Securities

boohoo.com plc

Canaccord Genuity Limited

Liberum Capital Limited

finnCap

Shore Capital & Corporate

Jefferies

Ramsdens Holdings plc

The City Pub Company plc

Macquarie Capital (Europe) Limited

SPARK Advisory Partners

Stockdale Securities

Kainos Group plc

Frenkel Topping Group plc

Sumo Group plc

Work highlights

Acted for Zeus Capital and Stifel Nicolaus Europe in their capacity as joint brokers (and in the case of Zeus, also as nominated adviser) in relation to the acquisition of KeyDrive S.A. by CentralNic Group plc and a placing and re-admission of ordinary shares of CentralNic Group plc to AIM.
Acted for Liberum in its capacity as nominated adviser and broker in respect of the IPO of Mind Gym plc on AIM, and the placing and the sale of existing shares in Mind Gym.
Advising target company, Artilium plc, on a recommended takeover offer made by Pareteum Corporation in which listed US-stock was offered as consideration.
Advising B.P Marsh in relation to a placing and open offer.
Advising Piper Jaffray on the cash confirmation and other takeover code aspects of Huadong Medicine Co., Ltd's bid for Sinclair Pharma plc.

CMS has a leading ECM practice for FTSE250 companies, and has also handled high-value equity transactions for nominated advisers and major investment banks including JP Morgan. The London team has been involved in large cross-border ECM deals acting in conjunction with the firm's wider network in jurisdictions including Hong Kong and Romania. Key figures include ECM practice group leader and 'great all-round corporate lawyer' Alasdair Steele, and corporate group co-head Iain Newman.

Practice head(s):Alasdair Steele

Other key lawyers:Iain Newman; Cathy Pitt; James Parkes

Testimonials

'Very knowledgeable and commercially focused.'

Key Clients

Investec

Galliford Try

Big Yellow

Euromoney Institutional Investor

Primary Health Properties

John Laing Infrastructure Fund Limited

Sequoia Economic Infrastructure Income Fund

ITE Group

Numis Securities

JP Morgan Cazenove

Work highlights

Advising ITE Group on a £265m fully underwritten rights issue to fund its £300m class-1 acquisition of Ascential plc's Exhibition Business.
Advising Galliford Try on its fully underwritten rights issue to raise gross proceeds of approximately £157.6m.
Advising Numis Securities as Sole Sponsor and Global Co-ordinator to a placing programme by Funding Circle SME Income Fund Limited.
Advising Numis Securities Limited and N+1 Singer Capital Markets on the £105m Rights issue for Main Market-listed Future plc.
Advising Winterflood Investment Trusts in relation to the £100m IPO of M&G Credit Income Investment Trust plc.

Though Norton Rose Fulbright is often recognised for its strength in many of the world's emerging markets, the ECM team has been especially busy with London fundraising deals involving companies in Canada and Australia. Acting for nearly 90 London-listed clients, the practice group handles a solid base of issuer mandates, but also has strong relationships with international investment banks and nomads. REITs and other listed funds work has been another source of the group's recent activity. Raj Karia leads the firm's corporate, M&A, and securities group across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Other recommended contacts include Thomas Vita, who advises on US securities matters for ECM transactions across EMEA, and newly made partner Clementine Hogarth, 'a robust negotiator and a doggedly determined legal adviser'.

Practice head(s):Raj Karia

Other key lawyers:Richard Sheen; Thomas Vita; Clementine Hogarth; Fiona Millington

Testimonials

'Great commercially astute senior associates, who were really able to drive the transaction along.'

'High level of partner involvement with a very strong bench.'

'The international network is very important, not just in emerging markets but also in Australia and Canada.'

'Very approachable from partner to associate level.'

Key Clients

JTC plc

Trian Investors 1 Limited

Numis Securities Limited

Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co.

JP Morgan Securities plc

Goldman Sachs International

Canaccord Genuity Limited

Citigroup

JP Morgan

Berenberg

Société Générale

CI Capital Holdings S.A.E.

Picton Property Income Limited

Madinet NASR For Housing And Development S.A.E.

Management ConsultingGroup plc (MCG)

Purplebricks Group plc

Republic of Angola – Ministry of Finance

Nordex

Ecobank

Cell C (Pty) Ltd

AK Lease

Citi

Deutsche Bank

Government of Pakistan - Ministry of Finance

Telenor ASA

Royal Bank of Canada

Scotiabank

Toronto-Dominion Bank

Unicredit

US Bank

Wells Fargo

Work highlights

Advised financial services firm JTC plc, a leading independent provider of global fund, corporate and private client services, on its admission to trading on the Main Market of the LSE and associated £243.8m institutional placing.
Advised Numis as NOMAD, joint broker and joint bookrunner, and Berenberg as joint broker and joint bookrunner on the IPO of Yellow Cake plc.
Advised CI Capital Holding on its IPO and listing on the Egyptian Exchange.
Advised Numis Securities and GMP First Energy on the AIM IPO of (formerly) TSX listed Serinus Energy, an international upstream oil and gas exploration and production company.
Acted for Purplebricks Group plc on a strategic investment by Axel Springer, one of Europe’s leading digital publishers, of £125m, involving £100m of new shares issued and the sale of £25m of existing shares.

Pinsent Masons LLP has noted a marked decrease not only in IPO activity, but also in listing activity more generally. However, where the team has been kept busy are with moves from the standard to the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and public company takeovers. The practice group has a number of strong broker relationships, but stands out in particular for its client roster of AIM listed-companies, a metric by which it is regularly listed among the market's top firms. Further, 'the team made an excellent strategic decision' in 2018 with the hire of Roberta Markovina from Herbert Smith Freehills LLP. Markovina is the group's first US securities lawyer based in London. Other key figures include corporate head John Tyerman, Jon Harris and Gareth Jones.

Practice head(s):John Tyerman

Other key lawyers:Jon Harris; Julian Stanier; Rob Hutchings; Roberta Markovina; Gareth Jones; Andrew Black; Chrissy Findlay

Testimonials

'They provide regular updates on market practice and explain things simply and with a practical focus.'

'A growing force in the marketplace.'

'A good balance of partner oversight and extremely capable associates.'

'Very well placed to advise companies in the oil and gas sector.'

Key Clients

CommScope Inc

Fenner plc

Canaccord Genuity Limited

FinnCap

AJ Bell

DCC plc

Cenkos Securities plc

Stadium Group plc

Central Square Holdings Ltd

Peel Hunt

Arden Partners

Abzena plc

Liberum Capital

Premier Technical Services Group plc

Investec

Work highlights

Advised Canaccord Genuity, in its role as sponsor, on the transfer of JPJ Group plc, a leading global bingo-led operation, of the listing category of its ordinary shares from a Standard Listing to a Premium Listing on the Official List of the UKLA in accordance with Listing Rule 5.4A of the FCA.
Advised FinnCap, the sponsor of PPHE Hotel Group Limited, on PPHE's application for the approval by the UK Listing Authority of the transfer of the listing category of all of PPHE's ordinary shares of nil par value from a standard listing to a premium listing on the Official List of the UKLA.
Advising AJ Bell, one of the largest UK investment platform providers, on its IPO and admission to the LSE's Main Market (premium segment).
Acting for DCC plc in its placing to raise gross proceeds of approx. £606m.
Advised Canaccord as sponsor to Harworth Group plc’s transfer of listing category from the standard segment of the Main Market to the premium listing segment.

Travers Smith LLP has historically been recognised for its AIM work on both the manager and issuer side, though the practice group works seamlessly across London's AIM and main markets, providing English law and US securities law advice. The firm is consistently instructed by corporate issuers in notable mid and upper-mid market IPOs, and also has strong relationships with prominent nomads and financial advisers in addition to larger investment banks. The group also has expertise in the listed funds market. Clients have recognised the partner-level expertise provided by individuals such as Spencer Summerfield, Philip Cheveley and Andrew Gillen, as well as the deep bench of senior associates, which includes the highly recommended Tom Coulter.

Practice head(s):Philip Cheveley; Spencer Summerfield

Other key lawyers:Andrew Gillen; Dan McNamee; Richard Spedding; Aaron Stocks; Philip Cheveley; Adrian West; Tom Coulter

Testimonials

'Partner-led service, but with support from very strong senior associates.'

'Hands on, hard working, and insightful, all at amazing value.'

Key Clients

Smithson Investment Trust

Trufin plc

Merian Chrysalis Investment Company Limited

Zeus Capital

Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited

Zegona Communications

Volex plc

Breedon Group plc

RBC Europe Limited

Carpetright

eServGlobal

Aggregated Micro Power Holdings

Benchmark Holdings

Liberum Capital

finnCap

Numis Securities

Goldman Sachs

Work highlights

Advised Carpetright plc on its £65m underwritten placing and open offer of new ordinary shares in connection with its company voluntary arrangement to restructure its store portfolio.
Advised TruFin plc on its £185m IPO and admission to AIM.
Advised Zegona Communications as issuer on the £100.5m placing of new ordinary shares in connection with its proposed acquisition of further shares in Euskaltel.
Advised Merian Chrysalis Investment Company Limited on its IPO and listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.
Advised Zeus Capital Limited as financial adviser, broker, joint global co-ordinator and bookrunner, Numis Securities Limited as joint global co-ordinator and bookrunner, and Stockdale Securities Limited as sponsor, to JTC plc, on its £310m Main Market IPO.

In the face of a sluggish domestic IPO market, Ashurst has kept busy advising on secondary offerings in connection with acquisitions and rescue transactions with distressed issuers. That said, the team was engaged by Tritax EuroBox in one of the last large IPOs to be completed before the market slowdown toward the end of 2018. Historical strengths of the practice group include real estate, real estate funds, and energy and natural resources, and while the team has been recognised for its bank relationships in particular, the team has been increasingly pushing its issuer-side work. The group is headed by Nicholas Holmes, 'a highly respected senior statesman in the London ECM market', while Jennifer Schneck leads the firm's 'strong US securities practice'.

Practice head(s):Nicholas Holmes; Jennifer Schneck

Other key lawyers:Simon Bullock; Eric Stuart; Karen Davies; Jeffrey Johnson

Testimonials

'Easily slots in as an extension of the in-house legal team.'

'A very strong technical team that works seamlessly across its departments.'

'A very safe pair of hands for distressed issuer transactions.'

'Very well-trained associates and consistently impressive partners.'

'Ashurst has developed an extremely strong bank-side practice and has a sound understanding of the inner workings of its investment bank clients.'

Key Clients

Akur

Alimak Group AB

Atlantis Resources

Atlas Mara

Barclays

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Berenberg

BNP Paribas

Cambian Group

Canaccord Genuity

Chesnara

Citi

Credit Agricole

Credit Suisse

Damac Properties

Davy

Deutsche Bank

Enquest

Etel Networks

Green REIT

Inflexion Private Equity

Interserve

Jefferies

Johnston Press

JP Morgan

Kempen and Kepler Chevreaux

Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate

Lamprell

Liberum Capital

Merlin Entertainments

Morgan Stanley

Nomura

Numis

OneSavings Bank

Oriel Securities

OSB Holdco Limited

Peel Hunt

Renewi

Royal Bank of Scotland

Severfield Rowen

Societe Generale

Softcat

Steifel Nicolaus

Time Out

Tritax EuroBox

Tungsten Corporation

UBS

William Hill

Work highlights

Advising Gran Tierra Energy Inc. in relation to its listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.
Advised newly incorporated UK investment trust Tritax EuroBox plc in relation to its successful IPO to raise £300m.
Acted for Barclays and Jefferies International Limited as joint global co-ordinators and joint bookrunners (and Jefferies as sponsor) in relation to a £140m firm placing and open offer by Countrywide plc.
Advising EnQuest plc on its £107m rights issue and in relation to two class 1 transactions.
Advised Peel Hunt and Deutsche Bank as joint bookrunners (and Peel Hunt as sponsor) in relation to the £65m placing and open offer of Carpetright plc.

With the combination of Berwin Leighton Paisner and Bryan Cave to form Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, the resultant London ECM practice is able to provide high-level English and US law advice in equity deals involving mid-cap, upper-mid-cap and even large-cap issuers. Equity capital markets work falls under the remit of the M&A and corporate finance department, which is jointly headed by Benjamin Lee and Carol Osborne, the latter of whom is dual qualified in the US and UK. The practice group acts for a variety of issuers and nominated advisers/brokers, and has several noted sector strengths including energy and natural resources, real estate, and listed funds.

Practice head(s):Benjamin Lee; Carol Osborne

Other key lawyers:Alexander Keepin; Richard Werner

Testimonials

'Excellent knowledge of capital markets, constant partner attention and detailed advice in all respects.'

'Alexander Keepin provides exceptional service in mining-sector deals.'

'The team makes every client feel important.'

Key Clients

Albert Technologies

Axiom European Financial Debt Fund Limited

Berkeley Energia

Petropavlovsk plc

Jadestone Energy

Playtech

Plus500

Secure Income REIT

Stenprop

XLMedia

Work highlights

Advised Peel Hunt on the publication of an AIM Admission Document for the readmission to AIM of Serica Energy plc
Advised Secure Income REIT plc on a placing of new shares to institutional investors raising gross proceeds of up to £315.5m, to partly fund the acquisition of two substantial portfolios of assets at a total cost of £436m.
Advised Jadestone Energy, a leading upstream oil and gas company in the Asia-Pacific region, on its institutional placing and admission to trading on AIM which raised $110m.
Advised Numis Securities on the Main Market IPO of Danakali, the potash company focused on the development of the Colluli Potash Project in Eritrea.
Advised longstanding client Plus500 Ltd on the admission of its issued ordinary shares to the Premium Segment of the Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market.

Dentons' London ECM group is characterised by a strong presence in upper AIM deals, and an active emerging markets practice which is more geared toward the main market. The AIM side of the practice is partly fuelled by corporate issuers in the energy, real estate and natural resources sectors, though the team also has relationships with a number of prominent nomads and investment banks. On the main market, the team was recently involved in a high-profile privatisation by way of IPO. Key figures in the practice group include Neil Nicholson and David Collins who heads up the UK corporate department.

Practice head(s):David Collins; Neil Nicholson

Other key lawyers:Nikolas Colbridge; Cameron Half

Testimonials

'A fantastic international practice that is able to pull in other specialists as necessary.'

'Working with Dentons, a client knows that every base will be covered; there's nothing the firm can't do.'

'A joined up and pragmatic approach to problems.'

'Neil Nicholson is diligent, dedicated and an effective delegator. Nikolas Colbridge has huge success in international capital markets transactions.'

'Innovative and effective services at a very attractive price.'

Key Clients

Science in Sport plc

Bonhill Group plc

Stifel Nicolaus Europe

RM2 International S.A.

Rosenblatt plc

RA International plc

Peel Hunt

Bilby plc

Cenkos Securities plc

Cantor Fitzgerald Europe

FreeAgent Holdings Limited

Hurricane Energy plc

Quiz plc

Marshall Motor Holdings plc

Work highlights

Advised Science in Sport, a market leading endurance sports nutrition company, on its £32 million acquisition of PhD Nutrition Ltd, a premium, innovation-led protein brand, and its equity placing of shares to raise £29m on AIM.
Advised Stifel Nicolaus Europe and BMO Capital Markets, as bookrunners, on the $110m fundraising and AIM listing of Jadestone Energy Inc.
Advised RA International Group plc on its successful IPO and admission to London's AIM Market.
Advised AIM-listed RM2 International S.A. on its £26m placing and open offer.
Advised Rosenblatt plc on its £43m AIM IPO and placing sale.

DLA Piper is consistently ranked among the most active firms for London Stock Exchange (LSE) IPOs, and though the appetite for floats slowed in 2018, the team remained active with a number of secondary offerings and rescue transactions, particularly in the retail space. The ECM team has recently been most active in the mid to upper-mid-cap market segment, and is on the lookout for issuer and underwriter mandates across AIM and the Main Market. Practice head Alex Tamlyn chairs the Primary Markets Group on the LSE, and Martin Penn is rated for his 'availability and sense of accountability'.

Practice head(s):Alex Tamlyn

Other key lawyers:Martin Penn; Rob Salter; Charles Severs; Karin Kirschner

Testimonials

'DLA Piper links up well with its US team and has a strong focus in the life sciences sector.'

'Nothing is ever delegated to an unknown or unseen lawyer.'

Key Clients

Mothercare plc

Learning Technologies Group plc

SDL plc

Hutchison China MediTech

Harworth Group plc

PureTech Health

Allied Minds

Zeus Capital

Numis

i-nexus Global plc

Work highlights

Advising Learning Technologies Group plc on the equity fund raise and incremental debt financing to fund the acquisition of US-based PeopleFluent, effected by way of a reverse subsidiary merger for a cash consideration.
Advising SDL plc, an international provider of services in language translation technology and content management, on its placing on the Main Market to part fund the acquisition of the business and assets of Donnelley Language Solutions.
Advising Hutchison China MediTech on its public offering on AIM of American Depository Receipts to raise $301.3m.
Advising Harworth Group plc on its placing on the Main Market and the subsequent step-up from the standard to the premium segment.
Acted for PureTech Health on its $100m placing on the Main Market of the LSE.

Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP has historically been a strong performer in the mid-market IPO space, working across the AIM and main market. The practice group has shown a particularly strong client base of nomad/brokers and UK investment trusts. Steve Nash and Richard Moulton are key contacts.

Practice head(s):Steve Nash; Richard Moulton

Other key lawyers:Sebastian Orton; Daniel Hall

Leveraging a roster of nearly 40 AIM-quoted clients and connections with a huge number of brokers, Fieldfisher has been involved in dozens of equity deals even at a time when the market has been especially quiet. The practice group is noted in particular for its expertise in the oil and gas and mining and minerals sectors, which means it is regularly handling transactions involving foreign issuers listing in London. To complement its expertise in the natural resources sectors, the firm has a large dedicated CIS group, which has continued to expand its work in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Russia. Key contacts include Neil Matthews, Anthony Brockbank, George Cotter and Brad Isaac.

Practice head(s):Neil Matthews

Other key lawyers:Anthony Brockbank; George Cotter; Brad Isaac; Dominic Gurney-Champion; David Bowcock

Testimonials

'The team is highly qualified and experienced in the mining and minerals sector.'

'Excellent cross support from partners and senior associates.'

'Highly responsive and proactive on transactions.'

'Very much partner-led, with a high degree of day-to-day involvement from senior lawyers.'

'Every firm has qualified lawyers, but Fieldfisher stands out for its responsiveness, its provision of advice that is actually usable, and its in-depth understanding of the client's business.'

Key Clients

Atalaya Mining

Liberum Capital

Strand Hanson

Grant Thornton UK LLP

KEFI Minerals plc

Mirabaud Securities Limited

Panmure Gordon

Berenberg

finnCap

Stifel Nicholaus Europe

Work highlights

Acting for Mirabaud Securities Limited, Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited and Smith & Williamson on fundraisings for Diversified Gas & Oil plc totalling $440m.
Acted for AIM-listed Cabot Energy plc on a subscription, placing and open offer raising $16.5m together with the acquisition of the remaining 25% of Cabot's producing oil assets in north west Alberta, Canada (via the acquisition of the entire sharecapital of High Power Petroleum (NOP) UK Limited).
Advising Dowgate Capital on S4 Capital Limited's £175 million fundraising and acquisition of MediaMonks.
Advised KRM 22 plc, an investing company focused on risk management in capital markets, on its IPO and admission to AIM with a market capitalisation of £12m.
Acted for Cenkos Securities plc and Mirabaud Securities Ltd on a secondary placing for AIM-quoted Duke Royalty Limited to raise £44m.

Gowling WLG's corporate group is one of the market's leading advisers for AIM-quoted mining and exploration companies. The corporate team often works hand-in-hand with the natural resources group headed by Charles Bond, and given the nature of its industry expertise, it has extensive experience acting for dual-listed corporates operating in numerous jurisdictions across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas. Moreover, corporate head, Sunil Kakkad, also leads an India-focused group. Although the team is generally most active for corporate issuers, the firm remains plugged into the nomad community, producing an AIM handbook and holding an annual conference for nominated advisers.

Practice head(s):Sunil Kakkad; Charles Bond

Other key lawyers:Kris Rogers; Jeffrey Elway; Samantha Myers

Testimonials

'The lawyers' knowledge in encyclopaedic and they are an absolute pleasure to work with.'

'The team impresses with its understanding of the industry, ability to quickly understand a client's requirements and provide appropriate advice in an efficient and timely manner.'

'Very friendly practice group.'

Key Clients

Codemasters Group Holdings plc

Draper Esprit plc

Urban Logistics REIT plc

Cantor Fitzgerald Europe

Mercia Technologies plc

Bacanora Minerals Ltd

Bushveld Minerals

Hummingbird Resources plc

Mkango Resources Ltd

Burlywood Capital

Firestone Diamonds plc

CIP Merchant Capital Limited

Phoenix Global Mining Ltd

AfriTin Mining Ltd

Work highlights

Acted for video games maker Codemasters in its admission to AIM.
Advised venture capital company Draper Esprit plc on its £115m fundraising by way of a placing and a subscription of new ordinary shares.
Advised Urban Logistics REIT on a secondary fundraising which raised gross proceeds of approximately £20m by way of a placing of ordinary shares.
Advised Mytrah Energy Limited, a listed renewable energy company with its operating assets in India, on a recommended £78.9m cash takeover offer by Raksha Energy Holdings Limited.
Acted for CIP Merchant Capital Limited in connection with a subscription for up to 100 million ordinary shares at 100 pence per share.

Mayer Brown International LLP has seen a litany of cross-border instructions in the insurance, life sciences and tech sectors, though the team's geographical reach has of late been a larger generator of work than its sector specialisms. With a particularly strong foothold in the US and Canada, an active Asia-Pacific network and a partner with extensive experience in the Spanish market (Robert Flanigan), the ECM team has managed to stay busy despite a relative slowdown in certain markets worldwide. Also recommended are Kate Ball-Dodd, who has 'an amazing grip on the technical aspects of law and their practical application', and Rebecca Bothamley, 'a junior partner who can run a transaction like a senior partner'.

Practice head(s):Kate Ball-Dodd; Robert Flanigan

Other key lawyers:Rebecca Bothamley; Colin Scagell; Richard Smith; Robert Hamill

Testimonials

'A client-focused team providing high-quality advice.'

'Kate Ball-Dodd is commercial, thorough, thoughtful and an absolutely lovely person; there's no ego there.'

Key Clients

Investec Bank plc

Liberbank, S.A.

Numis Securities Limited

Peel Hunt LLP

Entertainment One Limited

Metrovacesa, S.A.

St Modwen Properties

Helical plc

Promotora de Informaciones, S.A.

GW Pharmaceuticals

Work highlights

Advised Investec, as sponsor, bookrunner and underwriter, on the IPO by TheWorks.co.uk plc and admission to the premium segment of the Official List and to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.
Advised AIM-listed Velocys on its placing to raise £6m for working capital for ongoing renewable fuels biorefineries.
Advised AIM-listed Shearwater Group plc on its acquisition of Brookcourt Solutions Ltd for £30.3m to be funded by way of a placing and open offer.
Acted for Reliance Big Entertainment (Singapore) Pte Limited in relation to the IPO of Codemasters Group Holdings plc. Reliance owned almost 100% of Codemasters prior to admission and sold down its stake to 28.5% post admission, raising approximately £160m.
Advised Peel Hunt LLP as sole sponsor and bookrunner to IntegraFin Holdings plc's £177.6m IPO, with a market capitalisation of £649.4m.

Osborne Clarke LLP stands out for its extensive client roster of FTSE AIM corporates and prominent nomads. The team had a standout 2018, having acted for corporate issuers and nomads in multiple AIM IPOs. In addition to its standalone placing and IPO work, the practice group handles equity financing in connection with M&A and in conjunction with debt financing deals. Headed by Jonathan King, the team works across a variety of industry sectors, but has particular expertise in the areas of technology, digital business and life sciences.

Practice head(s):Jonathan King

Other key lawyers:Mark Wesker; Rebecca Gordon; Ed Nisbet

Testimonials

'The right combination of experience, knowledge and price.'

'Very efficient; the team provides advice in an easy-to-understand manner, often spotting mistakes that other advisers miss.'

'They feel like a natural extension of a client's own team.'

Key Clients

Investec Bank

Liberum Capital Limited

Lloyds Development Capital

Cenkos Securities plc

Sensyne Health plc

TalkTalk Telecom Group

Avon Rubber

Zotefoams plc

Creo Medical Group plc

Avanti Communications Group plc

Work highlights

Advising Liberium Capital in its capacity as nominated adviser, broker and sponsor to CFD trading platform Plus 500 Limited on its successful £1.5bn migration from AIM to the premium listing segment of the Official List.
Acted for Lloyds Development Capital in its capacity as selling shareholder on the successful £217m AIM IPO of global games brand, Team 17 Group plc, and associated £108m placing.
Advised Cenkos Securities plc as nominated adviser and broker to Shearwater Group plc on its £30m reverse takeover of Brookcourt Solutions Limited and £60m re-admission to trading on AIM.
Advised Sensyne Health plc on its £225m AIM IPO and associated £60m placing.
Advised TalkTalk on its successful £200m cashbox placing to strengthen its balance sheet, support its continued customer growth and its investment in its long-term fibre plans.

Simmons & Simmons is active across London's AIM and Main Market, and has strong relationships with some of the most prominent investment banks and nominated advisers. Headed by Chris Horton ('a seasoned operator with excellent technical skills'), the ECM group's sector specialisms fall in line with the wider firm's focuses, which include financial institutions and asset management, TMT, and healthcare and life sciences.

Practice head(s):Chris Horton

Other key lawyers:Chris Walton; Colin Bole

Testimonials

'A highly integrated team with excellent industry specialists on hand as necessary to support the execution of a transaction.'

'Strength in depth in key areas that complement ECM, such as US securities law and a particularly strong regulatory practice.'

'Excellent service at a competitive price.'

'Chris Horton is easy to work with and is a firm but fair negotiator.'

Key Clients

JP Morgan

Numis

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

HSBC

Investec

Jefferies

Future plc

UBS

Shore Capital

Peel Hunt

Cenkos

Macquarie Capital

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation

Goodbody

Work highlights

Advising JP Morgan Cazenove and Bank of America Merrill Lynch as joint bookrunners on a £107m Rights Issue byEnQuest plc. Also advising JP Morgan Cazenove as sole sponsor on two related class 1 transactions by EnQuest, the largest independent UK oil producer in the North Sea.
Advising Investec Bank plc and Numis Securities Limited on a £265m standby underwritten rights issue by ITE Group plc in connection with its class 1 acquisition of Ascential plc’s global trade exhibitions events business, Ascential Events Limited.
Advising Future plc on the acquisition of the B2C business of Purch and associated fully underwritten rights issue to raise £105.7m.
Acted for Peel Hunt in its capacity as bookrunner and nominated adviser to Sensyne Health plc in connection with its IPO on AIM.
Acted for Cenkos, Barclays and Macquarie Capital as joint bookrunners on the £150m equity placing by Smart Metering Systems plc.

Stephenson Harwood has experience working for nominated advisers and companies across London's AIM, Main Market and Specialist Funds Segment. Given the breadth of industry sectors and market segments it handles, the team managed to stay very active in the face of a mercurial market, having acted in nearly 70 London ECM deals in 2018. Moreover, the firm has continued to invest in the ECM group through new partner promotions in 2018 and 2019. The practice group is headed by Tom Nicholls, 'a talented and business-oriented lawyer with great knowledge of the London market; an absolute go-to'.

Practice head(s):Tom Nicholls

Other key lawyers:Tony Edwards; Anthony Clare; Tom Page; David Dowding

Testimonials

'Whatever the issue and without fail, they always provide well-considered, detailed and balanced advice.'

'Experts in small and mid-cap work, both ECM and M&A.'

'A team of talented individuals who work with commitment to achieve the client's legal goals.'

'No piece of work is too big or too small; they just cope with everything.'

Key Clients

Hotel Chocolat Group plc

Shield Therapeutics plc

VR Education Holdings plc

Manolete Partners plc

e-Therapeutics plc

Grit Real Estate Income Group Limited

easyHotel plc

Patagonia Gold plc

Myanmar Investments International Limited

Next Fifteen Communications Group plc

Focusrite plc

Gore Street Capital Fund plc

Landore Resources Ltd

The Parkmead Group plc

Novacyt SA

Woodford Patient Capital Trust plc

LXI Reit plc

P2P Global Investments plc

Augmentum Fintech plc

BB Healthcare Trust plc

BTG plc

Startcrest Education The Belt & Road Ltd

Premier Veterinary Group plc

Numis Securities

Strand Hanson

Arden Partners

Liberum Capital

Macquarie

Zeus

finnCap

N+1 Singer

Shore Capital

Shard Capital

Stockdale

Canaccord Genuity

Yorkville Advisors

Work highlights

Advised Manolete Partners plc on its £76 million IPO and admission to AIM.
Advised easyHotel on fundraising to secure £50 million to fund the acceleration of the group's owned hotel roll-out strategy.
Advised Grit Real Estate Income Group Limited on its London IPO. It is the only Mauritian company currently listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Advised Liberum Capital Limited in its role and nominated adviser to Volex plc, on Volex plc's move from the premium segment of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange to the AIM. Additionally, the firm advised Liberum in its role as nominated adviser and broker to Volex plc in relation to its subsequent £36m equity placing and related acquisition of a cable harnesses business.
Advised venture capital firm Augmentum Capital on the successful IPO of its first listed investment fund.

Bird & Bird LLP's corporate group has experience of public takeovers and public company M&A, and regularly advises on AIM placings and IPOs involving issuers in the energy and natural resources and technology sectors. The team acts for a long list of finance houses focusing on AIM placings, but has also recently been instructed by corporate issuers in the fintech and mining and minerals sectors. Practice head, Clive Hopewell, has been recognised by clients for his 'pragmatism' and 'effective management of difficult situations'.

Practice head(s):Clive Hopewell

Other key lawyers:Simon Allport; Adam Carling; Simon Fielder

Testimonials

'Technically very strong, but with one eye on the commercial realities of the situation.'

'Commercial, proactive and gritty.'

'High level of flexibility enabling delivery against tight and important deadlines.'

'Heavy partner involvement with strong team of associates.'

Key Clients

Alpha FX Group

Asiamet Resources Ltd

Directa Plus plc

Earthport plc

Frontier Developments plc

Gama Aviation plc

Gamma Communications plc

Griffin Mining Ltd

Harvest Minerals Ltd

IG Design Group plc

Jangada Mines plc

Proxama plc

RhythmOne plc

Tekcapital plc

The Stanley Gibbons Group

Westminster Group plc

Liberum Capital Limited

Canaccord Genuity

WH Ireland Limited

Mirabaud Securities Limited

Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG

Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited

Hannam & Partners LLP

Grant Thornton UK LLP

Cantor Fitzgerald Europe

Cairn Financial Advisors LLP

Work highlights

Advised Canaccord Genuity Limited as nominated adviser and broker on the admission to AIM of TransGlobe Energy Corporation.
Advised Canaccord Genuity Limited as nominated adviser and broker on the IPO of Kore Potash plc and its listing on AIM.
Advised WH Ireland Ltd, the nominated adviser and broker, on the re-admission to AIM of UK Oil & Gas Investments plc and a series of pre-admission fundraisings, raising gross proceeds of £12.5m.
Advised Alpha FX, a foreign exchange broker, on its raise of £20m by way of an accelerated book build.
Advised Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG as broker to XLMedia plc on a secondary fundraising.

Fueled in part by the firm-wide focus on private wealth, Charles Russell Speechlys LLP has developed expertise in advising shareholders and growth companies on public company transactions. Led by Andrew Collins, the practice group has relationships with some active nomads and brokers, but its extensive experience acting for corporate issuers across a huge range of industry sectors makes it a particularly attractive choice for companies seeking to grow through the capital markets. Clients have singled out Paul Arathoon as 'an excellent partner, who is very easy to work with'.

Practice head(s):Andrew Collins

Other key lawyers:Paul Arathoon; Mark Howard

Testimonials

'Thoroughly professional and approachable firm with a sound understanding of legal and commercial issues.'

'Strong team with a number of experienced operators, who are commercially minded and easy to work with.'

Key Clients

Alpha FX Group plc

Caretech Holdings plc

Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc

India Capital Growth Fund Ltd

fastjet plc

Liberum Capital Limited

MayAir Group plc

W H Ireland Limited

N+1 Singer LLP

Taptica International

Work highlights

Advised Cake Box on its admission to AIM.
Advised MayAir Group plc, the AIM-listed manufacturer, developer and provider of air filtration equipment and clean air solutions, on the group’s recommended takeover by Poly Glorious Investment Co Ltd.
Advising AIM-listed Taptica International Ltd on its recommended all share offer for AIM-listed RhythmOne plc.
Advised fastjet plc on a $10m capital raising and $2.1m open offer and a revised associated operational structure/arrangements. The team later advised the company on its placing, subscription, open offer and balance sheet restructuring to issue equity with a total value of $40.7m.
Acted for Grant Thornton as nominated adviser and both Hannam & Partners and Mirabaud Securities as joint brokers on the admission of Kropz plc to trading on AIM with a placing of $35m.

Dechert LLP fields a corporate team with strong nomad/broker relationships and ECM experience in the context of IPOs, M&A and take-private deals, and PE transactions. The team's placing work is primarily geared toward the London AIM market, where energy and life sciences are among the group's sector specialisms. Further, the practice group also has experience of cross-border listing mandates and instructions involving emerging market issuers. Douglas Getter heads the firm's US corporate practice in Europe in addition to its London corporate team, and Camille Abousleiman leads the international capital markets practice.

Practice head(s):Douglas Getter; Camille Abousleiman

Other key lawyers:Sean Geraghty; Patrick Lyons

Testimonials

'Good on response times and follow-ups.'

'They know how to consider the wider implications of difficult corporate transactions.'

'A very strong corporate team with excellent knowledge of the banking industry.'

Key Clients

Cantor Fitzgerald

Medincell

Allenby Capital Limited

Cantor Fitzgerald

Cenkos Securities plc

Further Global Capital Management

InterQuest Group

Safestay plc

Spark Advisory Partners Limited

SQS Software Quality Systems AG

Zeus Capital

Work highlights

Advised Cantor Fitzgerald, an integrated full-service investment bank, corporate finance advisory and brokerage firm, in connection with the AIM IPO of Azalea Energy plc and related equity fundraising.
Advised MedinCell, a tech-based pharmaceutical company, on its IPO on the regulated market of Euronext in Paris.
Advised Further Global Capital Management, a US private equity firm that makes investments in businesses within the financial services industry, on its successful £100m take-private of GBGI.
Advised AIM-listed Safestay plc, a European hostel and hotel business, in connection with its placing and open offer run by Canaccord.
Advised Interquest Group, a recruitment business that specialises within high growth areas of the new digital economy, in connection with its AIM take-private, and on the acquisition of Albany Beck Consulting Limited.

Acting for brokers and corporate issuers, Dorsey & Whitney is especially well known in the technology sector and has recently been involved in a significant IPO and multiple cross-border financing deals. Complementing its active English law practice, the firm is fairly unique amongst its closest competitors in its ability to work alongside its US network to provide US law advice on AIM financing deals. Further, in 2018–2019 the firm made several moves to strengthen its corporate trustee and banking practice groups. Senior partner Mark Taylor is noted for his approachability and 'commercially minded advice'.

Practice head(s):Mark Taylor

Other key lawyers:Kate Francis

Testimonials

'The team are very capable and meet tight deadlines.'

Key Clients

Canaccord Genuity Limited

Liberum Capital Limited

Joh. Berenberg Gossler & Co. KG

Watchstone Group plc

Corero Network Security plc

Numis Securities Limited

Stifel Nicolaus Europe

Microsaic Systems plc

Inland Homes plc

Work highlights

Advised Liberum Capital on the £280m IPO and related institutional placing by Codemasters Group Holdings plc.
Acted for Numis Securities Limited and Canaccord Genuity Limited as joint brokers on two institutional placings by Velocys plc.
Represented Digitalbox Publishing (Holdings) Limited on its reverse takeover into AIM-listed cash shell Polemos plc.
Advised Microsaic Systems plc on a £5.5m institutional placing.
Acted for Corero in relation to its £7m equity raise and new term loan facility.

DWF has been involved in a number of standout placing and IPO mandates in 2018–2019, not least of which included assisting with its own main market IPO, making it the only legal business listed on London's Main Market. Headed by Frank Shephard, who splits his time between London and Manchester, the corporate group acts for a host of nomads, brokers and investment banks and also has experience acting for corporate issuers, particularly in the technology sector. Also of note, the firm recently launched two legal technology products, which can be used specifically for managing IPOs, fundraisings and takeover transactions. Matthew Doughty leads the firm's ECM practice group.

Practice head(s):Matthew Doughty; Frank Shephard

Other key lawyers:Lisa Stavropoulos; Jeremy Swift

Key Clients

Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG (Berenberg Bank)

finnCap Ltd

Zeus Capital Limited

Immotion Group plc

Mercantile Ports & Logistics Limited

Tatton Asset Management plc

Cloudcall Group plc

Learning Technologies plc

Erris Resources plc

Plant Healthcare plc

Liberum Capital Limited

Nplus1 Singer Advisory LLP

PSC Insurance Group

Grant Thornton UK LLP

Polemos plc

Work highlights

Advised Berenberg as the sole global coordinator and Grant Thornton as the nominated adviser on the IPO of Tekmar.
Acting for Berenberg and Liberum Capital as joint bookrunners on the placing and acquisition by SigmaRoc plc via an accelerated bookbuild process.
Acting for Immotion Group plc on its £19.5m IPO on AIM.
Acting for Zeus Capital and Peel Hunt as joint broker for The Simplybiz Group plc on its £21.9m secondary placing to part fund the £74.3m acquisition of Defacto.
Advised Canaccord Genuity Limited on its capacity as sole bookrunner and nominated adviser to Attraqt Group plc on a conditional placing to raise £17.1m.

Acting for issuers and underwriters, Hogan Lovells International LLP has developed a reputation for advising on AIM listings that will lead to step-ups to London's Main Market. The firm is intent on developing its ECM capabilities, having made multiple hires to bolster its US securities practice in 2017 and 2018. With a strong English law corporate team and an enhanced US securities practice, the group is well-placed to advise clients on matters from pre-IPO fundraising to international offerings. Maegen Morrison heads the practice group.

Practice head(s):Maegen Morrison

Other key lawyers:Daniel Simons; Jonathan Baird; Bryan Stephens

Testimonials

'Sound commercial advice and a sensible approach to fees and billing.'

'Friendly and responsive; a very nice team.'

'They know what's needed to build a lasting client relationship.'

Key Clients

Shaftesbury plc

Numis Securities Limited

Just Group plc

Cenkos Securities plc

Jefferies International

Urban Exposure plc

Grainger plc

Berenberg

Liberum Capital

Canaccord Genuity

JP Morgan Cazenove

Work highlights

Advised Grainger plc on its £345m rights issue to fund the £396m acquisition of GRIP REIT.
Advised Just Group plc on its £75m cash box placing.
Advised Jefferies International as sponsor, global co-ordinator, bookrunner, and financial adviser on the £100m London Main Market IPO of Mobius Investment Trust plc (MIT plc).
Advised Numis Securities, Berenberg, and Macquarie on the placing of £192.5m of new equity in AIM-listed Burford Capital Limited to institutional investors.
Advised Urban Exposure plc, a specialist residential development finance and asset management company, on its successful £150m institutional placing and AIM IPO.

K&L Gates LLP stands out for its ability to handle AIM listings involving corporates based abroad and dual listings for London-listed clients. In particular, the team has deep experience of AIM transactions for companies in the US and Australia; jurisdictions in which the firm has a strong foothold. In terms of industry expertise, the practice group is best known for its work in the natural resources, technology and fintech, real estate and leisure sectors, and has maintained its activity across the board. Paul Tetlow heads the firm's UK corporate practice and has particular expertise in the energy, natural resources, and infrastructure sectors.

Practice head(s):Paul Tetlow

Other key lawyers:James Green; Tom Wallace

Key Clients

Faroe Petroleum plc

Tax Systems plc

Nektan plc

Solenta Aviation Holdings Limited

Bellzone Mining plc

Cluff Natural Resources plc

Action Hotels plc

Grant Thornton UK LLP

Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited

Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited

Work highlights

Advised Grant Thornton, as nomad to finnCap Group plc, on the acquisition by finnCap of Cavendish Corporate Finance, a placing to raise approximately £50m and its admission to AIM.
Advised finnCap as nomad and broker to dual-listed eServGlobal Ltd on its £19m fundraising by way of firm placing.
Advised Solenta Aviation Holdings Limited on the $40m equity financing and restructuring of AIM-listed fastjet plc.
Advised RPI on its hostile takeover of ASA Resource Group plc, an AIM-listed company that owns mining assets in Zimbabwe, the DRC and South Africa.
Advising finnCap and Cenkos Securities on a placing and open offer by Chariot Oil & Gas.

Macfarlanes LLP acts for nominated advisers, listed funds, company issuers and investment managers in a wide range of equity transactions including placing work, private capital investments and corporate transactions with securities and shareholding components. Headed by Robert Boyle, the team's recent work has been fuelled in part by its visibility in the private equity space. In addition, the practice group has experience of equity deals involving tech companies, and has also seen activity from foreign issuers listing in the UK.

Practice head(s):Robert Boyle

Other key lawyers:Harry Coghill; Mark Slade

Testimonials

'Very good technically, but also relatable and easy to work with.'

'Mark Slade is great to work with.'

Key Clients

Supermarket Income REIT

Canaccord Genuity Limited

Venn Partners LLP

Regional REIT

WWW Holdings Company Limited

Game Digital plc

Cevian Capital

J.C. Flowers

Alchemy Partners LLP

Stanhope Capital

Epic Private Equity LLP

Tarsus Group plc

LXB Retail Properties plc

International Game Technology plc

ITE Group plc

Royal Mail

Peel Hunt LLP

J.D. Wetherspoon plc

Work highlights

Advised Supermarket Income REIT (traded on the Specialist Fund Segment of the Main Market) on the placing and offer for subscription to fund the acquisition of two target assets, plus a share issuance programme, allowing the directors of Supermarket Income REIT to issue up to 150 million shares of £1 each in the 12-month period from the date of the prospectus.
Advising Canaccord Genuity Limited on its role as nominated adviser and broker to Litigation Capital Management Limited (LCM) on its admission to trading on AIM.
Advising GAME Digital plc on its move from the Main Market to AIM.
Advising Stanhope Capital as the cornerstone investor in a firm placing, placing and open offer by main market traded S4 Capital plc to fund the acquisition by S4 Capital of MightyHive Inc., a programmatic solutions provider for marketers and agencies.
Acted for Tarsus Group plc in a cashbox placing by way of accelerated bookbuild, raising gross proceeds of approximately £24m.

Memery Crystal LLP is one of the leading firms for listing foreign and dual-listed mining companies on AIM, particularly those from Australia and Africa. In addition, the team has experience advising brokers and corporate issuers in the technology, software and fintech sectors, and is becoming increasingly interested in acting for Canadian cannabis-related companies despite current regulatory hurdles for listing such companies. Key contacts in the team include Nick Davis and Lesley Gregory, a very well-known name in the London AIM space.

Practice head(s):Lesley Gregory

Other key lawyers:Michael Dawes; Nick Davis; Kieran Stone

Testimonials

'Exceptionally competent and hardworking; nothing is ever too much for them.'

'The team's key capabilities are closely aligned with the equity capital markets, so they are able to advise us to the best possible outcome.'

'One of the few firms in the City where their output far exceeds their billing.'

'Lesley Gregory provided very useful advice - a very experienced partner.'

'Lesley Gregory is highly experienced and offers excellent advice. Very professional and approachable and us helped our business a great deal.'

Key Clients

Danakali Ltd

MOD Resources plc

Petra Diamonds

Ananda Developments plc

Shanta Gold

Rainbow Rare Earths

Gulf Keystone Petroleum

Maestrano Group Ltd

Pelatro

Kropz

Litigation Capital Management Ltd

Odey Asset Management

Tharisa

Work highlights

Advised Danakali, an ASX-listed company with a potash project in Eritrea, on its dual listing on the London Stock Exchange.
Advised MOD Resources Ltd, an ASX-listed company with a copper project in Botswana, on its dual listing on the London Stock Exchange.
Acted for longstanding client Petra Diamonds Limited in its right issue to raise £133.1m to reduce its debt levels. The rights issue was fully underwritten by RBC Europe Limited, Barclays Bank PLC and BMO Capital Markets Limited.
Advised Ananda Developments plc on its fund raising and application for admission to the NEX Exchange Growth Market.
Advised Rainbow Rare Earths on a secondary fundraising by way of accelerated bookbuild.

Taylor Wessing LLP has experience advising REITs and trading companies on domestic equity markets spanning AIM and the Main Market, including the Specialist Funds Segment. The team has experience in the technology, life sciences and real estate sectors. Russell Holden is a key contact.

Practice head(s):Russell Holden

Other key lawyers:William Belcher; Jeremy Landau; Tandeep Minhas

Leeds-based Walker Morris LLP had an outstanding year both in terms of deal volume and individual highlight deals, having advised on three IPOs in 2018 each with a market capitalisation of over £100m on admission. Acting for corporate issuers and dealers/brokers, the strong performance of the ECM group and wider corporate team has been recognised by a variety of market sources. The practice group is jointly headed by Richard Naish and Daniel O’Gorman, who is noted for his 'commercial approach to transactions'.

Practice head(s):Richard Naish; Daniel O'Gorman

Other key lawyers:John Hamer; Edward Ainscoe

Testimonials

'A tremendously commercial team.'

'Daniel O'Gorman is very knowledgable and brings a commercial approach to transactions.'

Key Clients

Mattioli Woods plc

Custodian REIT plc

Gear4music (Holdings) plc

Avacta Group plc

Numis Securities

Renew Holdings plc

PROACTIS Holdings plc

Fulcrum Utility Services

N+1 Singer

TheWorks.co.uk plc

Stockdale Securities/Shore Capital

Zeus Capital Limited

Work highlights

Advised Zeus Capital in relation to the £130m AIM IPO of support services provider, The SimplyBiz Group plc.
Advised Numis Securities on the £103.5m IPO of Knights Group Holdings plc.
Advised TheWorks.co.uk plc on its £100m IPO.
Advised AIM-quoted engineering services group, Renew Holdings plc, on the acquisition of QTS Group Limited for a cash consideration of £80m, a secondary fundraising by way of a cash box placing to raise gross proceeds of £45m, and new debt facilities of up to £65m.
Advised N+1 Singer as nominated adviser and broker to AIM-quoted Microsaic Systems plc on its secondary fundraising to raise £5.5m.

Wedlake Bell LLP makes its way into the rankings this year thanks to a successful effort to expand its capital markets team. The team is now led by Martin Thomas, who specialises in listing transactions in London, and joined the firm from Watson Farley & Williams LLP. Since joining, Thomas has handled a number of equity financing transactions in connection with high-value M&A in the oil and gas sector. Another contact in the practice group is Edward Craft, who focuses on the retail, healthcare, and tech sectors, and has client relationships with several active nomads. Other notable additions to the team include Paul Corren and Claire McConway, who joined the firm in 2018 from HCB Solicitors and Carey Olsen respectively. Back just one more year, in 2017 Adam Lynch joined the team from Maclay Murray & Spens.

Practice head(s):Martin Thomas

Other key lawyers:Edward Craft; Adam Lynch; Paul Corren; Claire McConway

Testimonials

'Very good knowledge of corporate governance.'

Key Clients

Diversified Gas & Oil plc

N+1 Singer Advisory LLP

Matura Finance Limited

Hybridan LLP

MORhomes plc

Work highlights

Advised Diversified Gas & Oil plc on a placing and secondary sale raising $234m to part fund its $400m acquisition of HG Energy II Appalachia LLC.
Advised Diversified Gas & Oil plc on its $250m AIM placing to part fund its $575m asset acquisition from EQT Corporation.
Advised N+1 Singer Advisory in connection with a secondary placing of shares in CVS Group plc.
Advised N+1 Singer Advisory in connection with a secondary placing and subscription of shares in Futura Medical plc.
Acted for Hybridan on secondary placing and share subscription in TMT Investments plc.

Burges Salmon LLP regularly handles placing work in conjunction with it's strong restructuring team and its corporate group which acts for a number of domestic public companies. A particularly active area in 2018–2019 has been Brexit-related public company work where, for example, the team advised a listed company on a corporate restructuring mandate involving the creation of an Irish parent company. The team has strong relationships with a number of active nomads, and acts for a corporate client base spanning a variety of sectors, though the group is particularly well known in the energy space. Richard Spink heads the corporate department and Rupert Weston is a name to note in the corporate finance group.

Practice head(s):Richard Spink; Rupert Weston

Other key lawyers:Nick Graves; Dominic Davis; Chris Godfrey

Key Clients

Gooch & Housego plc

ITM Power plc

Michelmersh Brick Holdings plc

Jardine Lloyd Thompson plc

WH Ireland Limited

SciSys plc

Stockdale Securities

Premier Asset Management plc

FirstGroup plc

Future plc

Phillips 66

Work highlights

Advised WH Ireland as nominated advisor and broker to Malvern International plc on its conditional placing to raise approximately £4m.
Advised Future plc on a court approved reduction of capital to create additional distributable reserves of approximately £47m.
Advised SEC S.p.A. on its fundraising by way of a capital increase and subsequent private placing.
Advised AIM-listed Michelmersh on a firm placing to raise £5m and the connected strategic acquisition of Floren & Cie.
Advised WH Ireland (as nomad) on a reverse takeover under Rule 14 of the AIM rules and associated fundraising for Polemos plc (renamed Digitalbox plc).

Covington & Burling LLP's equity capital markets practice group has particular focus on the tech and life sciences sectors, where it provides English law and US securities advice to issuers and underwriters in domestic and cross-border placing deals. In its own right, the team provides comprehensive advice to London-listed corporates on secondary public offerings and private placements, but is also called upon by UK firms specifically to handle the US securities aspects of large London-based deals. Aside from its London-based US securities group, the team also benefits from its US office network, which often works alongside the London team to advise investment banks and UK corporates on US listing transactions. Simon Amies and Paul Claydon are key contacts for English law advice, while Kristian Wiggert leads much of the US securities work. Gregor Frizzell heads the EMEA-wide corporate practice.

Practice head(s):Gregor Frizzell

Other key lawyers:Simon Amies; Paul Claydon; Kristian Wiggert

Key Clients

AllergyTherapeutics plc

Horizon DiscoveryGroup plc

Oxford BioMedica plc

Peel Hunt

Safe Harbour Holdings plc

Work highlights

Advised Oxford Biomedica plc, which is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, on a follow-on financing to raise £20.5m from various institutional investors.
Advised Safe Harbour Holdings plc on its admission to AIM and £22.7m placing of ordinary shares.
Advised Macquarie Capital (Europe) Limited, as nominated adviser and broker to TruFin plc, on the US securities laws aspects of a £70m IPO on AIM by way of a placing and subscription of TruFin’s ordinary shares.
Advised Peel Hunt on the placing of new shares issued by Motif Bio plc, an AIM-listed life sciences company.
Advised BenevolentAI Limited on an £80m private placement of equity with institutional and family office investors, including funds managed by Woodford Investment Management.

DAC Beachcroft LLP has historical strengths in acting for corporate issuers and nomad/brokers in secondary fundraisings and IPOs on London's AIM. In line with the AIM's sector spread, the team has noted experience in the natural resources sector.

Other key lawyers:Nick Gibbon; Clive Garston; Jonathan Deverill

Fladgate LLP advises on the full suite of ECM and public company matters including standalone AIM placings, public company M&A, and main market listings. The practice group is noted for its cross-border experience and its work for dual-listed companies, for which it handles transactional and regulatory mandates. In particular, the team has developed expertise in advising Canadian and Israeli companies, which falls in line with the firm's industry focuses on technology, fintech, life sciences and natural resources. Moreover, the firm has invested heavily in its ECM capabilities, having most recently brought on Sandra Bates from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. Key figures in the practice group include David Robinson and Nigel Gordon, both of whom have experience advising technology and growth companies, and Paul Airley, who specialises in the energy and natural resources sectors.

Practice head(s):David Robinson; Grant Gordon; Paul Airley

Other key lawyers:Sandra Bates; Nigel Gordon

Testimonials

'The advice provided is balanced, sensible and pragmatic.'

'Very responsive and helpful on both legal and business issues.'

'Good mid market team with some excellent lawyers.'

'The lawyers generally have the scope and experience to deal with current technology and regulatory issues surrounding blockchain and tokenisation.'

Key Clients

Argo Blockchain plc

Blockchain Worldwide plc

TransGlobe Energy Corporation

PennPetro Energy plc

Caspian Sunrise plc (formerly Roxi Petroleum plc)

Tri-Star Resources plc

Shore Capital Group Limited

Cenkos Securities plc

Gfinity plc

Angus Energy plc

KCR Residential REIT plc

Audioboom Group plc

Chesterfield Resources plc

Sirius Petroleum plc

Jubilee Metals Group plc

Xtract Resources plc

Galileo Resources plc

Tiger Resources plc

Pan African Resources plc

Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Limited

Synairgen plc

BATM Advanced Communications Limited

WH Ireland

Avesoro Resources Inc

WideCells Group plc

Vast Resources plc

Synairgen plc

Work highlights

Advised TransGlobe Energy Corporation (listed on TSX and NASDAQ) on its introduction to AIM.
Advised WideCells Group plc on its £2m private placing and the publication of a related prospectus.
Advised Caspian Sunrise plc on the acquisition of Kazakh company 3A Best Group JSC, for a consideration of $24m to be satisfied in shares.
Advised Shore Capital on the equity placing by Yü Group plc to raise £12m.
Advised Argo Blockchain plc on its admission to the standard segment of the Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market.

The corporate group at Fox Williams LLP has strengths in equity finance with related experience of public takeovers, private M&A, and corporate governance. Headed by Richie Clark, the team has recently been most active in the natural resources sector, but has also demonstrated expertise in the areas of technology, financial services and fintech. In addition, the practice group has developed a reputation for handling equity finance mandates for companies in the professional services sector.

Practice head(s):Richie Clark

Other key lawyers:Guy Morgan; Andrew Woolf; Mary Elliott; Hannah Elliott

Testimonials

'The firm has attracted high-quality partners from larger firms, which is reflected in the quality of the people there.'

'The team is very hard working but they also seem to enjoy themselves, which makes them good people to work with.'

'State of the art understanding of fintech, an extremely fast-moving sector.'

'Guy Morgan stands out for providing clear and practical advice.'

Key Clients

finnCap Group plc

Allenby Capital LLP

Stockdale Securities Limited

Plexus Group Holdings plc

Scotgold Resources

Summerway Capital plc

Directa Plus plc

Tatton Asset Management plc

MX Oil plc

Aukett Swanke Group plc

Work highlights

Advised Summerway Capital plc on its IPO on AIM and £6.1m placing.
Advised Stockdale Securities Limited as nomad on Location Sciences Group plc's placing by way of accelerated bookbuild to raise £2.3m and open offer to raise £500k.
Advised Directa Plus plc on a placing by way of accelerated bookbuild to raise £3.2m and open offer to raise £300k.
Advised AIM-listed Scotgold Resources Limited on its £9m placing, subscription and secured debt funding in relation to its investment in the Cononish gold mine in Tyndrum, Scotland.
Advised Stockdale Securities on the conditional £2m placing in Angus Energy Limited, the AIM-listed oil and gas exploration and development company.

Perhaps the biggest story from Hamlins LLP's corporate department has been its investment in expanding its international reach. The practice group is looking in particular to the Canadian and Israeli markets and recently brought on Robert Rakison from McGuireWoods London LLP to act as international business consultant. In terms of industry sectors, the team attracts a flow of work in real estate and leisure sectors, and also regularly works in conjunction with its specialist media group. Practice head Daniel Bellau has expertise in public and private company M&A in addition to his AIM financing work.

Practice head(s):Daniel Bellau

Other key lawyers:Lisa Faragher

Testimonials

'Attentive firm that understands the client's needs and is able to grasp issues and opportunities and advise accordingly.'

'The team at Hamlins is skilled and experienced in all areas of corporate law.'

'Hamlins truly focuses on small caps and small cap issues.'

'A medium-sized firm that punches well above its weight.'

'It is a very well-connected firm that can offer introductions to other quality professionals.'

'Daniel Bellau has a strong legal mind and is extremely commercial.'

Key Clients

Park Plaza Hotels Europe

Angelfish Investments plc

Zenith Energy Limited

Ted Baker plc

Palace Capital plc

Allenby Capital

S P Angel

Cairn Financial Advisers

Hybridan LLP

Work highlights

Advising Zenith Energy Limited, a Main Market and TSXV exchange dual-listed natural resources company, on its proposed secondary fundraising through an institutional placing with UK institutional investors.
Advising a client, the holding company of a group of marketing services businesses, on its admission to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.
Acting for a client in connection with its role as nominated adviser and broker to an AIM-quoted company undertaking a reverse takeover of an operator of several mining assets based in Zambia.
Advising a construction company, which is now building up a land bank, on its proposed IPO on AIM.
Advising an energy company on its admission to AIM and an associated fundraising.

With sector specialisms in tech, retail and natural resources, Kerman & Co runs an integrated corporate practice that advises on equity fundraisings, M&A and other public company matters. Led by Peter Kohl, the team focuses on acting for corporate issuers and has a long track record of experience in handling AIM IPOs.

Practice head(s):Peter Kohl

Other key lawyers:Peter Wilkie; Coral Yu; Joan Yu

Testimonials

'They are very professional but at the same time easy to deal with and approachable.'

Key Clients

InfraStrata plc

Panthera Resources plc

Applegreen plc

Baron Oil plc

Empyrean Energy plc

Victoria Oil & Gas plc

Rurelec plc

Metals Exploration plc

Columbus Energy Resources plc

United Oil & Gas plc

Work highlights

Advised Applegreen plc in connection with their acquisition of a 50.01% majority stake in Welcome Break and the admission of its enlarged share capital to trading on AIM.
Advised long standing client Victoria Oil & Gas on its ongoing fundraising of £13.6m, which is comprised of an oversubscribed placing of £7.7m and a subscription of £5.9m.
Advised United Oil & Gas plc (UOG) on its proposed admission to AIM having acted for the client since its RTO on the standard segment of the Main Market.
Acted for AIM-quoted InfraStrata plc in connection with its recent placing to raise £1.5m.

Locke Lord LLP is most active in the tech, energy, and mining and natural resources sectors, where it advises on IPOs and other equity financing transactions, M&A and public takeovers, and corporate governance and other regulatory matters. The London team regularly works alongside its colleagues in Hong Kong and the US, and also has considerable experience acting for Australian-listed companies seeking to list on AIM or the main market. The practice group is headed by James Channo, who co-chairs the firm's EMEA transactions practice and speaks fluent Spanish, making the team an attractive choice for listing transactions involving companies with assets in Latin America. Other contacts include Sean Page, who has experience acting for Chinese clients, and Kevin Atkins, who has acted for issuer clients with operations in Africa and other emerging markets.

Practice head(s):James Channo

Other key lawyers:Sean Page; Kevin Atkins

Testimonials

'The team is quite responsible and organised. They're always reachable whenever the client is in need, and good at explaining legal concepts to personnel without a law background.'

Key Clients

Allenby Capital Limited

Hertsford Capital Plc

URAmerica Limited

Arden Partners Plc

Derriston Capital Plc

Iron Ridge Resources Limited

Shore Capital

SolGold plc

Balkan Zinc Plc

Close Brothers Group Plc

Thalassa Holdings Limited

Adamas Finance Asia Limited

Work highlights

Advised Brisbane-based SolGold plc on the allotment and issue of 100 million ‎new ordinary shares to BHP Billiton Holdings at 45p per share to raise £45 million.‎
Advised Honye Financial Services, a newly formed special purpose acquisition company seeking ‎acquisitions in financial services and fintech, on its IPO.
Advised Thalassa Holdings Ltd on the company’s move from AIM to a standard listing on the main market of the London Stock Exchange; also advising on the company’s proposed takeover offer for The Local Shopping REIT plc.
Advised Derriston Capital plc on its conditional ‎share purchase agreement to acquire S4 Capital Limited‎.
Advised Ironridge on its £5m equity capital raising.‎

The team at Michelmores LLP maintains a steady stream of work through its strong broker relationships and its dedication to the technology and natural resources sectors. Acting on the company side, one of the group's greatest strengths is its experience handling the transitional phase for smaller companies looking to list for the first time. The practice group has reported a very active year precisely because of its focus on smaller deals. As a reflection of its increased activity, the team promoted three new senior associates and hired an additional junior lawyer. Ian Binnie heads the capital markets group.

Practice head(s):Ian Binnie

Other key lawyers:Edwin Richards

Key Clients

Maistro plc

African Battery Metals plc

Orchard Funding Group plc

Sutton Harbour Holdings plc

China New Energy Ltd

Limitless Earth plc

Modern Water plc

Plant Health Care plc

Cantor Fitzgerald Europe

Strand Hanson Limited

Arden Partners plc

Allenby Capital Limited

S.P. Angel Corporate Finance LLP

VSA Capital Limited

Spark Advisory Limited

Whitman Howard Limited

Optiva Securities Limited

Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Limited

Tamesis Partners LLP

Work highlights

Advised Arden Partners plc and Whitman Howard Limited on a placing which raised £7.8m for AIM-traded Reabold Resources plc.
Advised Sutton Harbour on the company's £3m raise via an oversubscribed open offer.
Advised Modern Water plc on a strategic equity investment and joint venture by Hangzhou Sunup and associated open offer.
Advised Whitman Howard as sole broker to Koovs plc in connection with a £12m placing and subscription.
Advised Brandon Hill Capital and Cantor Fitzgerald Europe on a £5.5m placing for Kefi Minerals plc.

Mills & Reeve LLP's corporate group has acted for technology and natural resources companies in IPOs, AIM fundraisings and other various public company transactions. The practice group has contacts across the firm's London, Leeds and Cambridge offices.

Other key lawyers:Anthony McGurk; Stephen Hamilton; Paul Johnson

Reed Smith LLP holds a number of firm-wide relationships with issuer and underwriter clients, which it advises on US and English law securities matters arising from IPOs, placings, and other public company transactions. Headed by Delphine Currie, the team is often working with lawyers across the firm's global network and is thus well positioned to handle matters involving foreign issuers. US securities lawyer Daniel Winterfeldt is especially highly recommended.

Practice head(s):Delphine Currie

Other key lawyers:Daniel Winterfeldt; James Wilkinson

Testimonials

'The team has always displayed an in-depth understanding of the business and provided tailored legal advice that is spot on.'

'Especially strong in US securities law.'

'Daniel Winterfeldt is a force of nature.'

Shepherd and Wedderburn's ECM group is headquartered in the firm's London office, but also draws on the expertise of lawyers from the firm's various offices throughout Scotland. The team is instructed by corporate issuers and broker/dealers, and boasts a spread of sector experience in areas such as natural resources, technology and healthcare. It has also been increasingly active in the fintech space. Practice head Walter Blake is rated for his 'common sense and practical approach', and Tom Swan was promoted to partner in 2018.

Practice head(s):Walter Blake

Other key lawyers:Paul Hally; Stephen Trombala; Tom Swan

Testimonials

'If an individual is not available then another with appropriate knowledge and experience has always been found.'

'Seamless teamwork; a go-to team for small and large transactions.'

Key Clients

Aminex plc

Numis Securities Limited

Canaccord Genuity Limited

Stockdale Securities Limited

Iomart plc

PCI-PAL plc

Collagen Solutions plc

Bigblu Broadband plc

Tungsten Corporation plc

Nucleus Financial Group plc

IndigVision Group plc

European Assets Trust NV

Canadian General Investments Limited

Cairn Energy plc

Goals Soccer Centres plc

Work highlights

Acted for Nucleus Financial Group in its £140m AIM IPO.
Acted for PCI-Pal plc in its placing raising £5m.
Acted for BigBlu Broadband plc (previously called Satellite Solutions Worldwide Group plc) on its £12m placing to finance two acquisitions and working capital.
Acted for Stockdale Securities Limited in the £2.6m placing and open offer by AorTech International plc.
Advised Canaccord Genuity Limited on the conditional placing and subscription by Safestay plc to raise £10m and open offer to raise up to £1m.

Watson Farley & Williams LLP has particular expertise in the transport and natural resources sectors where it handles public company transactions, equity financing, hybrid financing, and corporate governance matters. Given its focus on mining and oil and gas, the team has deep experience of AIM transactions emanating out of Australia and southeast Asia. The team is headed by Chris Kilburn and includes the highly recommended Jan Mellmann.

Practice head(s):Chris Kilburn

Other key lawyers:Jan Mellmann; Dearbhla Quigley

Testimonials

'Strong overall team with good transaction management skills.'

Key Clients

88 Energy

Tower Resources plc

Allenby Capital Limited

Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd

Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited

Tamesis Partners

Westmount Energy Ltd

Coro Energy

Andalas

Saffron Energy plc

Work highlights

Advising Chaarat Gold on its $20m placement of a mixture of equity and short term senior secured convertible loan notes to selected investors.
Advising 88 Energy Ltd on its oversubscribed placement to raise AU$17m.
Advised Coro Energy plc on its potential cash and shares bid for Ophir Energy plc valuing Ophir at approx. £462m.
Advising Saffron Energy on its agreements to acquire the Italian oil and gas portfolios of each of Sound Energy plc, listed on AIM and Po Valley Energy Ltd, listed on ASX. The transactions will be structured as a purchase of the entire issued share capital of Sound Energy's wholly owned subsidiary, Sound Energy Holdings Italy Ltd, and Po Valley's wholly owned subsidiary, Po Valley Operations Pty Ltd.
Advising AIM-listed Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd on the acquisition by one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Chaarat Gold International Limited, of Kapan Mining and Processing CJSC, which owns a medium-sized polymetallic mine in the Republic of Armenia, from PMTL Holding Ltd., a subsidiary of Polymetal International plc.

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