Simon McArdle > Shoosmiths LLP > Birmingham, England > Lawyer Profile

Shoosmiths LLP
103 COLMORE ROW
BIRMINGHAM
B3 3AG
England

Work Department

Commercial, Partner

Position

Simon is a Partner in the commercial team who specialises in large scale outsourcing arrangements including logistics and warehousing, property and asset management, facilities management and soft services. His practice also encompasses agency and distribution arrangements (he is published on PLC in this area) and a range of other B2B contracting models.

Simon leads the Commercial team’s Logistics and Warehousing Team as well as leading Shoosmiths’ Resource Solutions service which offers a range of outsourced managed legal services for in house legal teams together with market leading legal tech offerings such as Cia (the firm’s AI powered contract review service) and Live Working (bespoke online hubs for clients).

Simon advises clients in a range of sectors including the retail, logistics, food, health and automotive sectors.

Recent work includes:

• Advising Aramark, the Fortune 500 global professional services company, in relation to its £nine figure deal with Merlin group in respect of the first generation outsourcing of all of the food and beverage services at its UK and US theme parks.
• Advising a major supermarket chain in relation to its £nine figure ground-breaking joint venture arrangements with a leading logistics provider relating to its UK warehousing.
• Advising a high-end retailer in respect of its £eight figure first generation outsourcing of its central distribution centre to a major logistics provider.
• Advising one of the UK’s largest logistics providers in relation to a renegotiation of its £eight figure deal with a major retailer.
• Advising a leading manufacturer of high end sports and leisure footwear in relation to the renegotiation of its central distribution centre arrangements with a major logistics provider.
• Advising a major food manufacturer in relation to its bespoke £multimillion cold storage facility agreement with a leading provider of cold storage facilities.
• Advising a Global cosmetics manufacturer in relation to the consolidation of its UK wide distribution network into a major new UK distribution hub.

Simon has extensive experience of working closely with in house legal teams, having spent time on secondment with Aramark the Fortune 500 global professional services company, Informa the FTSE 100 publishing giant, Iron Mountain the global records company, and Cambridge University Press and having been seconded as acting head of legal for a major electronics company.

Simon spent the early part of his legal career specialising in Commercial Litigation and as such has extensive experience of commercial disputes including contractual arrangements that have been subject to inter-party and judicial scrutiny.

Lawyer Rankings

London > Corporate and commercial > Commercial contracts

Shoosmiths LLP has engaged with a body of commercial work over the past twelve months, capitalising on its strong automotive reputation to act on issues such as logistics, warehousing services and cross-border framework, supply, licence agreements. In addition to this, the group highlights its wide reach with notable sponsorship and media arrangements in the sports industry, power purchase agreements for household UK retail clients, as well as warehouse and distribution operations in the food and beverage sector. Robin Webb is a standout name for his close work with an extensive list of automotive manufacturing giants, while Michelle Craven-Faulkner is praised by the market for her ‘good knowledge’ of industries and ‘trustful cooperation’. Simon McArdle is a key figure for his proficiencies in critical logistics outsourcings, as well as AI. Fiona Teague is recommended for her ‘excellent advice’.

West Midlands > Corporate and commercial > Corporate and commercial: Birmingham

Jointly helmed by VC specialist Alistair Hammerton and experienced commercial contracts lawyer Simon McArdle, Shoosmiths LLP’s Birmingham team draws high praise from clients for its ‘strong commercial acumen’ – especially in the manufacturing, recruitment, tech, infrastructure, retail and data sectors. The team is especially noteworthy for the strength of its venture capital practice, anchored by the efforts of VC team head Alastair Peet. National corporate chair Ben Turner – who splits his time between the firm’s London and Birmingham offices – works with various household names on M&A and PE-driven work, often with a cross-border element. Helen Burnell focuses especially on VC and infrastructure sector matters, advising on a slew of investment transactions.