M&A: lower mid-market deals, £50m-£500m in London

‘They really think into and understand the business rationale of transactions, and translate the business interests accordingly into contracts and agreements.’

‘Very well organized and super responsive.’

‘Chris Taylor: outstanding negotiation performance, able to develop solutions for a problem “on the fly”.’

‘They are efficient and responsive. They understand our commercial objectives and get the deal over the line with the minimum amount of fuss. They take a commercial and pragmatic approach to transactions.’

‘I felt the whole of the DLA team were an excellent match for our company – down to earth, committed, flexible and very communicative. The DLA team were empowered to interact with my team at a number of different levels and throughout the service was outstanding. Innovation came through the wider approach to the transaction we were working on – a transaction with multiple strands.’

‘The entire team took total ownership of their actions – never did we feel we had to monitor progress, very reassuring. Probably most importantly from my perspective, however, was the strength of the relationships – we felt warmth to the team, we felt we were one team, we enjoyed working with the entire team.’

‘Excellent allocation of work between London and lower cost regional locations. Very commercial and good understanding of technology issues such as revenue recognition, IP ownership. Strong in negotiations and always willing to offer advice rather than just choices.’

‘Charles Severs is very strong in conflicts – always capable of finding a middle ground. Technically very strong and always willing to express an opinion.’

‘Great billing transparency – they agreed to provide automated daily WIP updates. Brilliant! Nothing is too big an ask with these guys and client service is always consistent. Advice is very practical.’

‘Rob Bray is an understated titan. Steely, tough, bright and very easy to work with.’

‘We are relatively new to the firm, but so far they have shown a good breadth of skills and knowledge for our requirements, in particular in the oil and gas industry in which we operate, on our M&A projects, in relation to AIM matters, where we are quoted, and for corporate matters generally.’

‘We have worked with the team for many years and always appreciated their calm professionalism and consistently high levels of service, irrespective of the size of transaction.’

‘One of the advantages of working with this firm is the quality of every member we deal with. Each bring their own particular expertise.’

‘We used SPB as legal advisors for two transactions and they were fantastic both times. They are true partners and always placed the success of our organisation and welfare of our team at the heart of their decision making. We had total confidence in their advice, they always cut through the legalese ensuring we knew what was of material importance. They are strong across M&A, tax and internationally. I never felt we were on the clock regarding fees, they always checked with us in advance before committing us to additional spend. Most importantly, they are good people who you enjoy working with during periods of high stress.’

‘Mark Yeo is exceptional.’

‘Close partner engagement on deals. Pragmatic advice.’

‘Andrew Gillen was exactly the right amount of hard but reasonable negotiator we required against a tough seller’s counsel. We were very impressed at how pragmatic the advice was to get to the execution of the deal.’

‘Ben Lowen was very approachable and always available for counsel. He ensured that every box was ticked and I never had to chase on issues.’

‘Adrian West was outstanding on the project, with a calm, clear head at all times. He gives pragmatic, sensible advice and is very experienced.’

‘They understood the needs of the company and stakeholders, were extremely experience and competent. We had to complete the transaction within two months and they response time was outstanding which is key for M&A.’

‘The team led by Andrew Gillen and Ben Lowen made the transaction very user friendly for us, taking on the tough negotiations. The team were right there when we needed them, fully up to speed and ready to give their advice in a timely manner. We were introduced to other specialists, like tax, from the very beginning and they didn’t wait for problems to arise before getting the advice in. All their advice was incredibly straightforward and very easy to understand. They found solutions for us when the deal structure didn’t pan out exactly as we thought.’

‘Ben Lowen was excellent and showed great resilience in dealing with changing timetables and issues as they arose.’

‘Probably Travers’ best point was that the team are so personable, they felt like part of our in-house team by the end of the deal. They were brilliant to work with and I couldn’t speak more highly of them. I would instruct them again and recommend them to others. ‘

‘They deliver consistently excellent work – they’re rigorous and all over the detail but equally able to step back and take a commercial view of what’s needed in a particular situation.  They are our “go to” firm for corporate transactions.’

‘Very capable at all levels from junior associates up to partners and across a wealth of different specialisms. The team listens to the client’s requirements and adapts accordingly, and generally takes a pragmatic rather than dogmatic approach to tricky issues. Very good level of co-operation between their different international offices when working on cross-border transactions.’

‘Neil Blundell is very responsive throughout the engagement. Happy to roll his sleeves up and get involved in the detail when necessary.’

‘Richard Bloomfield takes everything in his stride, acting with a maturity which belies his years. Very easy to work with.’

‘Pragmatic, commercial and proactive – worked within tight timeframes and were flexible juggling different time zones and input from client and advisors.’

‘As lead partner, Andrew Hart was great coordinating the relevant practice areas and legal input. He was great both from a technical/legal knowledge perspective and also very commercial balancing our need to move fast while assessing and managing risk.’

‘A dynamic team with hands-on approach and effective value added.’

‘I have known BCLP for many years – their professionalism and client relations have always been first class.’

‘John Bennett was the lead partner I most recently worked with on a deal. His technical ability and experience was second to none. More than anything, his client relationship skills were exceptional. He demonstrated that he really cared and sought very robustly to protect his client when it mattered. He was always available and supported by a strong team with the same culture of commitment and professionalism. I would not hesitate to recommend John on corporate transactions.’

‘A leading law firm for life sciences M&A.’

‘Andrew Harrow and Graham Defries are known well by big pharma.’

‘Stuart Mathews is a superb lawyer.  I cannot recall any counter-party finding fault with documentation he has drafted or the logic he has used.  His clear-thinking and constructive manner has usually led to him becoming the driving force in getting issues resolved and transactions documented regardless of how many other lawyers are involved. Stuart’s responsiveness, clear drafting, meticulous attention to detail and quick turnaround of documentation are a significant benefit to us in achieving our commercial goals.’

‘Ellie West and Heloise Waudby led our team from their London office. They were thoughtful, timely and efficient. They understood and anticipated our needs at every step of the transaction.  To boot, they were a delight to work with. I wouldn’t hesitate to hire them again.’

‘Quick, precise and helpful answers; solution-oriented; straightforward and no theoretical treatises; reasonable billing.’

‘McDermott has advised us on a wide range of commercial matters over many years. They have a good understanding of our business and are very responsive to our needs.’

‘Our team was truly a cross-border practice in the sense that they were able to bring resources from many jurisdictions across multiple specialties to a single team to help complete our transaction.’

‘Exceptional service, excellent value for money. Really strong domain knowledge. Very personable team.’

‘Good understanding of our industry, and offer pragmatic solutions to cut through M&A-related issues.’

‘Simon Smith offers consistently practical and pragmatic advice, and solutions to navigate M&A issues.’

‘Great service, always available and with great grasp of the topics.’

‘Very responsive and agile in dealing with questions and turning documents around.’

‘Simon Smith was a safe pair of hands on the corporate side. Ken Wilkinson was very calm under pressure and agile.’

‘Stephenson Harwood’s M&A team worked as an extension of the in-house legal team during the largest transaction in our group’s history, including by providing a secondee to assist during the due diligence phase. This made the transaction move much more smoothly and also enabled the firm to liaise directly with the business where required, which was beneficial in terms of the business buying into the legal process. The team were always readily available and responsive, and performed extremely well especially considering that we completed negotiations and signing from our respective homes during full lockdown in May 2020. The transaction was not affected at all in terms of timing and outcome. Their performance impressed the senior management team as well as in-house legal.’

‘Excellent experience working with Ben Mercer. Ability to coordinate complex matters, communicate risks clearly and give good commercial context. Very responsive.’

‘Taylor Wessing has been excellent on our cross-border technology deals. They are my go-to firm for cross border M&A. Always reliable. Makes me feel like I am the only client, although I know they are very busy!’

‘Robert Fenner has superb business awareness and in-depth understanding of the small-mid cap tech industry.’

‘Exceptional quality advice on complex PE transactions and deal structures.’

‘Cooley has a very broad senior team and a very strong bench. Senior partners across multiple specialties are available at short notice and around the clock and the associates are excellent and tireless.’

‘Everyone is smart, completely focused on and committed to the client, know what they don’t know, and work incredibly hard.’

‘Very commercial. Experienced with all aspects to support PE businesses, from commercial, employment, and M&A.’

‘Stephen Rosen epitomises the Cooley approach. Very humble but incredibly experienced. Understands the commercial side completely and looks for the best way for the company, rather than just their fees.’

‘Very broad bench of high quality practitioners.’

‘High level of expertise, great advice along the way, just totally competent.’

‘I have concluded several MBOs and exits with Stephen Rosen and he is the best I have dealt with.’

‘The Cooley M&A team is responsive to the client in all ways. They set and meet appropriate timelines with counterparties, communicate effectively with my team and react effectively to deal issues that need navigating. The collaboration between practice areas is particularly impressive.’

‘The team are incredibly knowledgeable, bringing a wealth of insight, expertise and pragmatism to deals. Their awareness of market trends, of issues, of approaches to deals and the approach of players within the market place is invaluable to navigating deal structures and paperwork.’

‘Shawn Atkinson is simply outstanding. Hugely talented, knowledgeable, down to earth, approachable and responsive. One you are glad to have on your side.’

‘The team is easy to work with and highly knowledgeable regarding the VC sector. Katie Cotton is unflappable, practical and a pleasure to work with.’

‘Strong team, very cohesive.’

‘Incredibly responsive and helpful. Orrick have been hugely supportive and really helped us grow our business.’

‘Responsive, great understanding of our market and our business.’

‘Law is all about the people and the quality at WFW is outstanding.’

‘Andy Savage is outstanding.  He is accessible and highly responsive on core legal matters. He stands out as having particular acumen in transaction tactics, guiding clients through multi-stage competitive processes.’

‘Very approachable and flexible in working with. Excellent communication skills and hard-working to deliver value for the client.’

‘Mark Tooke is very responsive, and together with his team has provided us with great transaction support. He is a smart and practical lawyer, and we value his solid guidance.’

‘Chris Kilburn knows the oil and gas market in Europe and Asia and has an easy, patient nature which has been invaluable.’

‘Jan Mellmann is technically excellent, commercial, proactive and a pleasure to work with.’

‘The Watson Farley team delivers comprehensive advice in a fast and seamless manner. The M&A practitioners are particularly strong at pulling in SMEs when required, using their time judiciously.’

‘A strong team with good, practical and cost-effective advice and guidance. They are our first call and are always available to provide one-off or detailed advice, depending on the context.’

‘The Winston & Strawn  legal practice is unique and remains consistently exceptional. I very much appreciate their effective, non-ego-driven, client focused approach to legal negotiations.’ 

‘Zoe Ashcroft is excellent.’

‘Great client service and delivery leading to excellent value for money for the client. They are experienced at complex cross border transactions for large international clients and are able to offer commercial advice underpinned by excellent technical skills.’

‘Paul Amiss is super responsive, user friendly and very pragmatic.’

‘We worked on a transaction with Dominic Davis and his team and found them to be incredibly client focused, pragmatic and a joy to work with. They went above and beyond on multiple occasions to not only meet client deadlines, but also to talk both the client and our team through technical points on the transaction. Even under significant time pressure during the transaction they remained calm, relaxed and enjoyable to work with. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Dom and his team to anyone looking for a high quality corporate lawyer and someone who will lead them through a complex M&A process with calmness, understanding and humour.’

‘Burges Salmon are a mid-market focused law firm and they understand very clearly the specific needs and challenges of the owner managed businesses vs large corporates. What impressed me most was not only the quality of the people and the advice but also the culture, personality and style of the team. They made the complex simple and the stressful significantly less stressful. They were collaborative and collegiate in their approach and they made an extremely fast moving and complex deal simple for both the client and us as corporate finance advisors.’

‘They have a very good knowledge of your activity field, which makes the difference compared to their competitors.’

‘The team is legally extremely skilled and has a strong commercial understanding which is key in their approach to transactions. Highly experienced, driven and energetic. I highly recommend them.’

‘Camilla Usher-Clark is a sheer pleasure to work with. She is very skilled in her legal analysis and commercial approach in doing deals. Constructive and very capable. I can only give her my highest recommendations.’

‘Easy to work with on all levels, highly knowledgeable M&A lawyers but most of all trustworthy, and have the experience to give sound advice with solutions and options from varied angles and perspectives so it is easier to make an informed decision.’

‘High levels of integrity, approachable, knowledgeable and giving sound, impartial advice not based on earning more fees. Highly trustworthy which is crucial in building good relationships.’

‘A very good team – very dynamic.’

‘The team is sharp, commercial and pragmatic. They’re also extremely personable – it’s a pleasure working with them. And they’re able to use that genuine charm to push through deals with the other side.’

‘Supremely approachable and pleasant to deal with. You know they’re fully engaged in your deal and fully on your side. No effort is too much for them.’

‘Carlton Durrant knows the TV industry, understands the client’s priorities, and generally makes deals run more smoothly. You always feel as if you are his most important client.’

‘A solid team, who are good to work with and generally pleasant people.’

‘They are incredibly efficient with the right level of senior and junior involvement at all times. Whenever I want to get hold of a partner, they are available 24/7.’

‘I value integrity and a calm approach to problems. Nicholas Hutton has been an outstanding person to work with over the last twenty years.’

‘Alex Kyriakoulis epitomizes the concept of a trusted adviser. Commercial, shrewd, and always willing to find a solution rather than argue over pointless issues, he get things done, and knows M&A market practice and our sectors/business backwards.’ 

‘HFW has an excellent range of expertise across the commercial spectrum. Combined with their strong shipping background and industry insight, this makes them ideally placed to advise on private equity placements in the shipping sector.’

‘Alex Kyriakoulis has strong commercial understanding and is able to assist in structuring commercial solutions, under challenging circumstances. He is very diligent and responsive to our requests, always meeting transactional deadlines efficiently.’

‘HFW know our business very well and they proactively enquire about latest developments. That’s a key aspect of their excellent service.’

‘Matthew Gore knows our business and its many facets very well. He makes outsourcing easy.’

‘Paul Tetlow and James Green have provided considerable consistent high quality support and advice to us. They both know the organisation well and care about outcomes. This, combined with their ability to work cross-border and to tight deadlines makes them our trusted adviser.’

‘Their range of M&A knowledge, combined with an empathy for our company, really made it work. No struggle at all.’

‘Paul Tetlow – absolutely fantastic! Made a complex transaction easy to understand – we always felt we were receiving exceptional service and counsel.’

‘They worked tirelessly to complete our deliverables under extremely tight deadlines. Great energy.’

‘Mishcon de Reya offers a great service to us. We have a close relationship with senior partners, who are always available for an initial conversation and advice.’

‘An incredible team, responsive, commercial and always available. Mishcon’s team were quite excellent and compared very favourably to the magic circle firm on the other side – chalk and cheese.’

‘High profile practice fully deserving its excellent reputation. Clearly very experienced and extremely professional throughout. The team led the whole process from start to finish, providing at all time excellent advice and recommendations. We always felt that we were in a safe pair of hands. Post-deal, the other (buying) party commented on how good and professional our advisers had been.’

‘Allison Keyse is the main partner I work with – she is great, commercial, balanced and can see traps a mile off.’

‘Very good commercial M&A team with good knowledge of our sector/buyer requirements.’

‘Saul Sender has a very relaxed approach with clients, but is also very sharp.’

We were particularly impressed by the extremely high calibre of of all the people we interacted with, and their total commitment to our project. They were, without a fault, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, available and with a prodigious work rate. I cannot commend them enough.’

‘Andrew Rimmington was exceptional. He was deeply involved and in command of the whole process throughout, certainly more so than many partners from other firms that I have interacted with in the past.’

‘Karen Hendy and Emily McGregor are extremely knowledgeable in M&A field, very responsive, pleasant to work with and with a very practical and business oriented approach. They have been invaluable helping our company in acquisition activity in the UK.’

‘Peter Sugden is outstanding. He combines exceptional legal skills with a practical approach, and to top it all off, he’s a pleasure to work with.’

‘Nigel Collins has a strong affiliation to Japan, its enterprises and its culture.  He knows how to interact with Japanese clients, which requires a lot of reading-between-the-lines due to the entirely different communication culture.’

‘Chris Brierley: attentive to client needs, careful, sharp, quick and efficient, easy-going.’

‘Nigel Collins – everyone who does Japan-UK deals know him as one of the star individuals; he is surprisingly approachable and friendly, and most importantly, truly understands how Japanese company M&A works in foreign jurisdictions, especially in the UK.’

‘Neil Brown – outstanding, calm, engaging, very bright, no-nonsense, really fights for the client,  very commercial approach.’

‘Peter Sugden offers a superb level of balanced advice and service.’

‘Neil Brown combines extensive knowledge with a calm and rational approach.’

‘The corporate team provides an amazing service for clients who undertake complex and difficult corporate transactions (e.g. joint ventures, acquisitions, reorganisations etc.). The team has in-depth knowledge and expertise to ensure that a transaction is both structured efficiently and is completed to tight deadlines.’

‘The team is professional, has a keen eye for detail and has one of the best transaction/project management skills I have come across in many years. Furthermore, the team always provide commercial and pragmatic advice.’

‘Excellent depth of expertise in a variety of specialities, including mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning, general consulting. Very innovative and flexible in its billing practices; this is reflected in their willingness to invest their time and resources in learning their customers.’

‘Sean Scanlon is excellent – makes corporate work understandable.’

‘Very good sector knowledge and business understanding, highly flexible with services and billing, responsive and good personal relationships.’

‘Jeremy Willcocks leads a very strong and very understated team in the London office. They are hard-working, technically excellent and incredibly good to work with from the client and collaborator perspective. There is a genuine attitude of “can-do” that makes it one of the go-to practices for providing reliable and high quality corporate support.’

‘Jeremy Willcocks is always very good to work with and provides an enormous level of comfort and support alongside excellent technical expertise.’

‘Tom Wilson is very much one to watch. A highly competent, diligent and personable corporate lawyer.’

‘Very efficient – they were able to meet extreme deal pressure timings.’

‘Good, commercial, practical advice. Strong and innovative. Not overly risk averse and happy to give a commercial view on legal matters.’

‘The team works in a highly efficient manner across multiple legal disciplines which ensures that all aspects of a transaction are considered and advised on without the need for the client to have to ask the question.

‘The partner I deal with is commercially savvy and raises crucial legal and commercial issues along with proposed solutions, guiding the legal and commercial soundness of the deal. What is done exceptionally well is that the broader capabilities of the firm are channelled through a couple of key contacts so rather than being drawn into wider discussions, the various issues are explored behind the scenes by the Pillsbury team and focused advice is then fed back to the client efficiently.’

‘They are entirely devoted to the transaction as if it is the only thing they are working on, which ensures speed and efficiency regardless of other transactions they may be working on. A clearly flat management structure ensures that if I pick up the phone to speak to a lawyer at almost any seniority, they are all up to speed on the transaction and ready to take any requests back to the team at Pillsbury for immediate action.’

‘Great commercial skills.’