Blending transactional strength with governance and commercial contracts prowess, Acuity Law provides an all-encompassing service to clients from a range of sectors, including healthcare and life sciences, technology, retail and education. Christian Farrow  is well-versed at advising on domestic and cross-border transactions, including M&A and joint venture (JV) structuring in the financial services and renewables sectors. In addition, he has been pivotal to the firm's pioneering use of technology to assist clients, including the firm's long-standing Acuity Counsel subscription service and the nascent Document Assist product which enables companies to easily produce high-quality legal documents themselves. Beverley Jones  co-heads the corporate side of the practice alongside Farrow, and as well as her M&A work in the healthcare sector, is also gaining traction among fund clients, including Warwick Capital for their investment activity. Jon Lawley has also developed a strong reputation within the healthcare space, most specifically as a result of his ongoing work for Portman Dental Care, the largest active acquirer of dental practices in the UK. As well as his work for university spin-out clients, Phil Pugh also handles commercial and transactional matters for technology and IT clients, an area of the practice which was strengthened at the beginning of 2022 by the arrival of Declan Goodwin  from Vistra Corporate Law (he  now heads up the commercial and technology sub-group). Senior associate Tom Saunderson continues to impress as a result of his private equity and early stage venture capital expertise, while at a more senior level, both Paul Lowe and firm chairman Stephen Berry  are key resources for clients as a result of their vast knowledgebase which has been developed over their many years in practice.

Led on the corporate and commercial front by the 'commercially aware' James Williams  and Penri Desscan , respectively, and also able to effectively leverage resources from across the firm's full-service offering, should the need arise, Blake Morgan LLP provides a 'first-class' service to private and public sector clients across a broad swathe of their transactional and commercial contract needs. Although the team is industry agnostic, it continues to handle a significant amount of activity for owner-managers in the health and social care sector on sales and acquisitions. In addition, under the guidance of the 'calm, confident and unflappable' Richard Jones, it continues to pick up a significant flow of venture capital and private equity mandates, with Jones developing strong ties with a number of institutional investors, as well as regularly assisting founders and management teams on fundraising transactions. Promoted to Legal Director in July 2022, James Vaughan has a diverse practice that includes transactional and day-to-day corporate/commercial work for SMEs, owner-managed businesses, as well as larger corporates, while at the other end of the spectrum of seniority, Robert Cherry  regularly provides vital input to clients in his consultancy role.

With twenty practitioners focusing on corporate and commercial work, the   'responsive and proactive' team at Capital Law Limited has the strength-in-depth to handle a tremendous range and volume of work for private and listed companies on transactional work in the immediate geographical confines, as well as beyond the Welsh borders. Under the guidance of 'solutions-oriented' corporate head Tom Kelleher  and former in-house counsel at 3i Group Duncan Macintosh , the centrepiece of the practice, however, remains its private equity/venture capital offering, both for institutional investors, as well as management teams. As well as his continued M&A work for core client, WestBridge, Kelleher also continues to grow the firm's offering in the space, with nascent London-based sponsor Averroes Capital a notable new client. Laura Spendiff has entrenched relationships with clients in the local SME market and along with 'very efficient and pragmatic' Gareth Williams-Davies, whose private equity credentials includes work for both management teams and sponsors, was promoted to partner in November 2022. Maria Coggins   leads the commercial offering at the firm and excels in advising on commercial contracts and data protection.

While it has limited visibility in the local market, Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP's Cardiff office regularly acts on its own, or alongside other offices across the firm's UK-wide and international network, in relation to mandates outside of the Welsh borders, often involving a cross-border complexion. In this context, many of the transactions are within the financial services and fintech space, with team head Paul Pugh leading the way on such deals, including a continuing flow of work for fund client, Pollen Street Capital, on its M&A transactions in the sector. Principal associate Shelley Evans  is also noted for her financial services M&A expertise.

Geldards LLP provides 'very responsive, efficient and great quality advice'  to a varied mix of domestic, UK-wide and international clients across a wide range of corporate and commercial work, including advice on M&A matters and assistance to businesses transitioning to employee ownership. 'At the top of his game', corporate head Andrew Morris takes the lead on many of the most significant mandates and has a strong reputation in the local market  as a result of his versatile practice that includes clients within the gaming, IT, healthcare and financial services sectors, among others. The 'exceptional' Alex Butler  has made a strong impression since joining over two years ago from an in-house position and has very effectively rebuilt the firm's venture capital and private equity credentials which took a slight hit at the beginning of 2021 following the departure of Geraint Tilsley. The 'approachable and very talented' Chris Williams leads a very strong commercial practice, which handles a myriad of commercial contracts work for private sector clients, as well as for central government and local authority clients.

Benefitting from 'good experience in the local market', Hugh James has, over the years, developed deeply rooted relationships with a number of high-profile domestic businesses/institutions, including S A Brains and Development Bank of Wales, ensuring a steady flow of ongoing day-to-day corporate/commercial instructions, as well as M&A matters. Many of these mandates have involved disposals to UK and international-based entities, including its recent work for S A Brains on the sale of its remaining stake in coffee shop chain Coffee #1 to Caffè Nero. 'Calm and sensible' team head Gerallt Jones  led on the aforementioned mandate and is noted for his transactional and general corporate and commercial support advice to clients within the sports and food and beverage sectors, with the Welsh Rugby Union a particularly visible client. The 'exceptionally knowledgeable' Greg Williams has private equity expertise for investees and investors, particularly within the life sciences sector, work which he combines with his role as head of the firm's dedicated healthcare group - which frequently sees him engaged in acquisitions and sales of pharmacies and dental practices. The 'commercially astute' Aled Walters heads up the commercial side of the practice, which has garnered particular acclaim for its expertise at negotiating complex commercial contracts for clients in the media, tech and gaming sectors. In summer 2023 the firm acquired boutique Cardiff-based firm Loosemores, taking on a team which works with range of corporate and commercial matters for clients in the sport, media and entertainment, charities and technology sectors. The 'very professional and diligent' Siôn Tudur  has a good reputation for handling corporate transactional work, particularly for clients within the SME spacem, working alongside the 'very personable' Mark Loosemore, who has a focus on commercial contracts work for sports clients.

Formed in November 2020, despite its infancy, Harrison Clark Rickerbys' fledgling corporate department has rapidly grown in size, with former corporate head at Ince & Co, Theresa Grech , the latest partner to join the firm,  following her arrival in March 2022. Consequently, it has the resources to handle a significant volume and variety of work, ranging from M&A matters, reorganisations and JV structuring, primarily in the mid-market. 'Incredibly experienced' team head Martyn Davies takes the lead on the most significant mandates, including many with a cross-border complexion. On the commercial front, the firm has a core focus on advising technology-based clients, with David Beynon noted for his outsourcing and software development expertise, and the 'knowledgeable and commercially astute' Nicola McNeely one of the pre-eminent practitioners in Wales for advising on blockchain and non-fungible token (NFT) matters.

A stalwart of the South West Wales legal market, Swansea headquartered firm Morgan LaRoche has deep and longstanding connections with owner-managed businesses and SMEs in the locality, and is regularly engaged in both transactional work, as well as a myriad day-to-day corporate and commercial work associated with their business dealings. Team head William Barletta remains pivotal to the firm's success and has, over his many years in practice, developed deep subject matter expertise across a myriad industry sectors, including as it relates to waste recycling, healthcare, professional services, and renewables. Praised for his 'practical approach', Christopher Evans is also a key member of the team and continues to successfully expand the firm's West Wales footprint from the firm's flourishing Carmarthen office.

Although Lewis Silkin's Cardiff-based corporate offering remains a relatively recent proposition (having only been established in earnest in January 2021), it has hit the ground running, advising on numerous high-profile M&A mandates across a range of sectors including technology, media, IT and manufacturing. Central to the firm's success and market visibility, is 'exceptional' team head Geraint Tilsley, whose impressive M&A credentials include a substantial amount of private equity/venture capital-led deals. A significant number of these matters have a cross-border complexion, a consequence of Tilsley's ties with a number of US-based funds and corporates.