The Legal 500

North West: Corporate and commercial

Corporate and commercial: Manchester

Corporate and commercial: Manchester - ranked: tier 3

TLT

TLT's  ‘personable’ and ‘genuinely agile’ corporate and commercial team delivers ‘practical’ and ‘partner-led’ advice. Stephen Devlin advised Boohoo.com on its accelerated bookbuild to raise £50m, together with a sale by key founder members of shares raising £80m; advised K3 Capital Group on its admission to AIM; and also advised the shareholders of SuperBike Factory on its sale of the entire issued share capital to a new company funded by Livingbridge. Legal director Elizabeth Delaney advised Green Hedge International on the £30m sale of a majority share in Green Hedge Energy UK and an investment from a European investment fund managed by Zouk Capital. Andrew Needham and Ian Roberts are also key members of the corporate team. Susan Honeyands, David Gardner, who is praised for his ‘stellar attention to detail’, Pauline Cowie and Stuart Campbell are all recommended on the commercial side. Jon Close joined Knights Professional Services Limited.

Leading individuals

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North West: Dispute resolution

Banking litigation

Banking litigation - ranked: tier 4

TLT

TLT’s banking and financial services litigation team is commended for its ‘strong depth of expertise’. The practice handles disputes related to professional negligence, LPA receivership, real estate, title rectification, recoveries and complex retail banking litigation. Lloyds Banking Group, The Co-operative Bank, Santander, RBS and Handelsbanken are clients. Key figures include James Chadwick , who delivers ‘commercial and pragmatic advice’, and associates Andrew Thorncroft, David Robinson, who ‘tailors his advice to the needs of the client’, and the ‘excellent’ Roisin McGlinn.

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Commercial litigation: Manchester

Commercial litigation: Manchester - ranked: tier 4

TLT

The ‘responsive’ team at TLT regularly handles contentious cases across the retail, leisure, energy and utilities sectors, acting for clients such as Adrian Francis Associates, Boohoo.com, Co-operative Group, Farmcare Trading, Homebase and Well Pharmacies. Emma Flower handles a range of commercial disputes, particularly in the retail sector, and has specialist export controls and sanctions experience; clients say she is ‘very tenacious, proactive and gives sound legal advice which is commercially focused’. Energy, leisure, and telecommunications sector disputes are key areas of focus for Julien Luke. Jon Hainey joined from DWF in May 2018.

Leading individuals

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Debt recovery

Debt recovery - ranked: tier 2

TLT

Operating closely with its Bristol and London offices, TLT handles secured recoveries, mortgage enforcements and provides a specialist payment recoveries service to financial institutions. Lloyds Banking Group, RBS, The Co-operative Bank and Santander are clients. Legal director Darren Shaw specialises in the recovery of outstanding mortgage arrears and property for financial institutions and banks, is also active in the recovery of ground rent and service charge arrears for property management companies, landlords and developers; and heads the mortgage enforcement and payment recoveries department in Manchester. Banking and financial services litigator James Chadwick is also recommended, as is associate David Robinson who ‘tailors his advice to the needs of the client’.

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North West: Finance

Banking and finance

Banking and finance - ranked: tier 4

TLT

TLT provides a ‘very good service’, delivers in a ‘timely and helpful manner’ and ‘goes the extra mile to solve problems’. The practice focuses on real estate and housing finance in addition to corporate lending mandates. Clients include Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC Bank, Svenska Handelsbanken, RBS, Santander UK and The Co-operative Bank. Team head Paul Crighton is ‘always on hand when needed with commercial advice’.

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Insolvency and corporate recovery

Insolvency and corporate recovery - ranked: tier 4

TLT

TLT’s ‘strong’ team ‘benefits from full UK coverage’ and has ‘vast sector-specific knowledge’. The team acts for mid-market corporates and turnaround specialists undertaking restructurings and also advises private equity funds in relation to distressed businesses. Pension-related restructuring mandates are also a key area of focus for the team. It advised Latium Management Services and Latium Capital on the purchase of the business and assets of Entu (UK). The team has particular experience in advising clients on acquisitions, disposals and restructurings in the healthcare sector and advised Deloitte as administrators of a group of companies which owned and operated eight care homes and a block of flats. Clients also include BDO, Begbies Traynor, GVA, FRP Advisory and RBS. Alastair Lomax is ‘a great project manager’, is praised for his ‘sharp commercial mind’ and his ‘knowledge and contacts within the industry make difficult cases straightforward’. Andy Bell and Patrick Sheehan are active on real estate-related restructuring matters. Martin March recently joined Turner Parkinson LLP.

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North West: Human resources

Employment

Employment - ranked: tier 3

TLT

The ‘very commercial’ Ed Cotton at TLT  ‘gets to the key issues quickly and is very commercial in his approach and style’. Cotton regularly advises on complex strategic and organisational issues as well as on the employment aspects of disposals, mergers and acqusitions. The team was further strengthened by the recruitment of the ‘top-class’ Paula Cole from Squire Patton Boggs. At associate level Jessica Foster and David Birchett are both ‘excellent and very commercial’. The ‘exceptional’ team advises on a broad range of complex matters such as TUPE, large scale reorganisations, whistleblowing, restrictive covenants as well as trade union and industrial relations issues – often where there is a significant reputational issue at stake. Clients include Search Consultancy and Preston North End Football Club. Classic Lodges is another major client.

Leading individuals

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North West: Real estate

Commercial property: Manchester

Commercial property: Manchester - ranked: tier 3

TLT

Praised for its ‘technical knowledge’, the team at TLT handles real estate mandates for clients across the leisure, retail, energy, housing, TMT, financial services and public sectors; and advises New World Trading Company (UK) on its ongoing acquisition programme including the acquisition of new sites at Mediacity Salford Quays, Park Street Bristol and Church Street, Cardiff. It also advises Lookers on site acquisition ‎and development projects as well as disposals and asset management, acted for Athena Healthcare on the acquisition, development, finance and occupational letting of a portfolio of luxury care homes, and advised Total Fitness Health Clubs on the £3.2m sale and leaseback of the Total Fitness Health Clubs in Bolton to Pemberstone Group. Landmark Investments Group and Pets at Home are also clients. Andy Bell is the national head of financial services for real estate and acts for banks and other financial services clients on real estate finance and real estate recoveries work. Patrick Sheehan advises on a range of property finance, acquisitions and disposals, landlord and tenant, development and LPA receivership matters. Matthew Forrest handles property litigation mandates, while Daniel Sweeney, +John Hyde, who joined in 2017 from Weightmans LLP, and legal directors Philip Moran and Fay Wilshaw are also noted.

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Planning and environment

Planning and environment - ranked: tier 4

TLT

The planning team at TLT’s ‘response times are exceptional’ and it is regularly instructed on major infrastructure and regeneration projects. The team is advising Muse Developments, as the developer partner to Warrington Borough Council, on the £108m regeneration of the Time Square area of Warrington Town Centre. Cheshire East Council and Warrington Borough Council are also clients. Associate Debbie Reynolds is ‘technically superb and delivers excellent practical and commercial advice’; she is ‘clear and strategic in her assessment, and her advice plays a pivotal role in driving partnerships forward to deliver desired outcomes’.

Next generation lawyers

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Property litigation

Property litigation - ranked: tier 3

TLT

TLT is active on landlord and tenant disputes, rent reviews and lease renewals and contractual disputes, portfolio management and acts for commercial landlords and tenants, public sector bodies, housing associations, property developers, investors, financial institutions and insolvency practitioners. The team handles complex property litigation and title rectification work for of major clearing banks and other financial service providers such as Nationwide Building Society and Lloyds Banking Group. It advised Greene King on a dispute relating to an agreement for a lease and advised Pets at Home on a dispute regarding the deflection of the floor slab at its central distribution centre. It also acts for Nationwide Building Society on property litigation and management matters relating to its high street branch portfolio. Iceland Foods, Landwood Commercial (Manchester) and WHSmith Retail Holdings are clients. Recently promoted partner Matthew Forrest and James Chadwick, who provides property litigation, title rectification and recoveries advice to financial service clients, are key members of the team.

Next generation lawyers

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North West: TMT (technology, media and telecoms)

IT and telecoms

IT and telecoms - ranked: tier 2

TLT

TLT is well known for its work on transformational IT projects covering telecoms, outsourcing, software development, SaaS, systems integration and Cloud. It also has a strong practice in the financial services and fintech sectors as well as public sector. It advises a number of national retailers. David Gardner  is recommended. Clients include a national leading UK clearing bank, Close Brothers and Elavon Financial Services.

Leading individuals

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Intellectual property

Intellectual property - ranked: tier 2

TLT

TLT   has the ‘top-notch’ Graeme Orchison . Orchison has an ‘excellent understanding of the issues and is excellent at explaining these issues to clients. He is very knowledgeable on all aspects of IP litigation’. He has particular expertise in running heavyweight trade mark, design and patent cases to trial and in the appellate courts. He is also highly skilled at making and defending applications for interim relief. The ‘very experienced’ Orchison ‘knows his onions when it comes to IP, not just the law but how to craft a letter and keep the client happy’. Head of the non-contentious practiceDavid Gardner  has substantial experience of advising on strategic contracts and Jake Campbell is ‘very competent at drafting agreements and at making sure that the client is not exposed’. Clients include household names such as Argos and learndirect.

Leading individuals

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