Brabners LLP

Marcus Armstrong

PartnerHead of Corporate and Commercial Marcus leads Shulmans’ highly-experienced corporate and commercial team. Marcus is known for his outcome-focused and tenacious approach to getting deals done. Clients praise his approach, which is “fantastic. He understands our needs and what we are doing". Marcus has “incredible determination to conclude transactions… he was a constant source of strength”. According to Chambers & Partners, clients say Marcus is "a very effective deal-doer" who "just gets stuff done". Marcus has extensive experience in all aspects of corporate finance work, including: Business sales and mergers Acquisitions Group reorganisations Refinancing Whilst Marcus has experience in dealing in a broad range of sectors, including IT services, manufacturing and financial services, he has particular expertise in dealing with providers of social care, dental and medical services and retail optometrists. Marcus’ recent healthcare experience has seen him act for domiciliary care providers, supported living organisations and a number of other providers operating in the field of regulated social care. In addition to transactional work, Marcus regularly provides advice in connection with shareholder agreements, directors’ duties and corporate governance issues. Marcus advises a range of clients from large corporates and asset financiers to owner-managed businesses. Marcus is also a Director and Committee Member of the Leeds Law Society and a regular speaker on healthcare transactions for banks and healthcare providers.

Craig Arrowsmith

Senior Associate

Amanda is a Partner in our private client team. She is an experienced private client lawyer who specialises in landed estates. She handles a range of succession and tax planning matters such as the preparation of wills, the creation and administration of Trusts and the establishment of Family Investment Companies. Amanda acts for private individuals, business owners, agricultural property owners, family trusts, and landed estates. She also advises on probate matters, with a particular expertise in the application of agricultural and business inheritance tax reliefs. In addition, she is experienced in advising on and establishing ‘Balfour’ type partnership arrangements for landed estates. Amanda has a strong background in all non-contentious tax, trust and estate planning. She is a recognised as a leading authority on family investment companies and gives professional training for lawyers and accountants on the subject via MBL Training and the Offa Group. Amanda is a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Colin is a Partner and leads our intellectual property and technology teams. An experienced commercial lawyer, Colin specialises in intellectual property (IP) law, advising both national and international clients. He handles issues relating to patents, trade marks, copyright, passing-off, brand management, company names and domain names, as well as database, image and design rights. With a strong background in both contentious and non-contentious IP work, Colin is highly experienced in the protection and registration of IP portfolios (including UK, EU and international trade marks), brand strategy, clearance advice, the exploitation and licensing of IP, enforcement and infringement disputes. He has developed an extensive and highly regarded network of trusted agents to assist in the enforcement and defence of IP rights in international territories.Colin also leads our technology team, which advises entrepreneurs, start-ups, scale-ups, established businesses, investors and corporate boards on a wide range of transactional, corporate and regulatory matters. We deal with both general technology-related matters as well as specific matters across a number of sector verticals including esports, the creative industries, IT, cybersecurity and big data. Outside the technology space, Colin represents many clients across the sport and retail sectors, advising on a wealth of commercial matters including commercial contracts, IT contracts, licensing, franchising, agency collaborations, joint ventures, sponsorship, broadcasting, host city and venue agreements, as well as privacy, data protection, GDPR, retail, e-commerce, digital assets, gaming, gambling, betting, advertising and promotion issues.

Director. Civil and Criminal Financial Regulatory Defence. Acted in defence of HMRC Assessments for unpaid Excise Duty, and Appeals in respect of direct and indirect tax. Instructed in FCA mis-selling and market abuse. Also instructed in two of the larges Serious Fraud Office Prosecutions of recent years and the largest viivil asset recovery action brought by SOCA

Barry is a Partner and leads our construction team. Barry acts for contractors, sub-contractors, suppliers, developers and employers. He has advised on major projects including Hinkley Point C and also the new Mersey Gateway Bridge, two of the largest infrastructure programmes in the UK.

Christine is a Legal Director in our employment and pensions team. She is an experienced employment lawyer who handles issues such as TUPE, industrial relations, employment tribunal claims, HR-related matters and recruitment sector legal issues. Christine acts for employers across the North West ranging from SMEs and family businesses to large corporates, as well as business owners and senior leaders such as directors. Christine has a strong background in contentious and non-contentious matters and has practised in employment law for over a decade. In addition, Christine regularly provides training to businesses on key issues ranging from disciplinaries and grievances to anti-bullying and harassment She trained under employment judge Paul Holmes and served as Head of Employment at a Bolton-based law firm prior to joining us. Christine is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association.

PartnerProperty Finance Edwina is a partner in our nationally-recognised real estate team, and leads our work on commercial property finance. Edwina is an experienced and highly capable commercial property lawyer. Her clients value Edwina’s calm, organised and meticulous approach to delivering a first-class service. In addition to leading the property finance work at Shulmans, Edwina has over 15 years’ experience in dealing with all aspects of commercial property transactions including landlord and tenant and commercial development work. Edwina advises a number of national high street banks, regional financiers and niche funders of property transactions on all aspects of financing property transactions, including work on forward funding, deal vetting, title analysis and reporting and issues where separate representation is required. Edwina and her colleagues are able to respond quickly and efficiently to the specific needs and requirements of funders. Edwina has an intimate knowledge of bank requirements and procedures in this respect, and works hard as part of a wider team (both inside and outside of Shulmans) to get the right deal done. Work undertaken and overseen by Edwina in respect of property finance includes: Development sites Stand-alone commercial properties Commercial portfolios (with a particular interest in retail) Residential portfolios Edwina also works closely with our corporate finance and insolvency & restructuring teams. Commercial property assets and related funding arrangements are often key aspects of wider corporate and restructuring deals requiring Edwina’s expert specialist experience. Notable clients include: Lloyds Bank PLC Santander UK PLC Town Centre Securities PLC Andrew Page Ltd Svenska Handelsbanken AB

Ali is a Legal Director in our employment, pensions and immigration team. He handles Employment Tribunal claims for unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal, whistleblowing, discrimination, day-to-day employee relations, redundancies/reorganisations and negotiated settlements. He also drafts employment contracts, service agreements and policy documents.He acts for a range of clients in the automotive, higher education, manufacturing and supply chain, housing and regeneration and recruitment sectors. He also advises on various contentious and non-contentious matters involving disciplinary, dismissal and grievance issues, employment status issues, holiday pay and corporate transactions. Ali is experienced in contentious employment law and has acted for claimants and respondents in a wide range of cases including advocacy work in the Employment Tribunal. He is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association and the Liverpool Law Society and is also the former Chair of the Merseyside Junior Lawyers Division.

David is a Partner in our corporate team. He is an experienced corporate lawyer and handles issues relating to corporate transactions such as acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, MBOs, MBIs, private equity matters, reorganisations, shareholders agreements and share options. David regularly acts for and provides general corporate and business advice to private companies, partnerships, LLPs and other businesses.He also advises charities and social enterprises on governance and constitutional issues, as well as ongoing business matters such as mergers, trading activities and subsidiaries. David has a strong background in non-contentious work and has acted for both public and private companies on various issues for over three decades. He previously served as a Partner at a major national practice before joining us. David’s current clients include Brookes Bell, Roanza, Rathbones, Northern Drives and Controls and the Robert Smith Group. He serves as a trustee for the Manchester United Foundation (which he helped establish in 2007) and until recently was also a trustee of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

Charlotte McRae

Charlotte is a Senior Associate in our regulatory and professional conduct team. She handles issues such as health and safety prosecutions, licensing issues and professional disciplinary matters. Charlotte acts for a range of clients including individuals, SMEs and housing associations. She also advises on firearms licensing appeals as well as criminal matters. Charlotte is experienced in coronial law and has represented a number of clients at inquests in order to protect their interests and helping them avoid or respond to prevention of future death reports.

Andrew O’Mahony

Andrew is a Partner and our Head of Banking and Finance. An experienced corporate lawyer, he advises lenders, corporate borrowers and institutional investors on various aspects of banking and finance work. This includes structured and acquisition finance transactions, real estate finance transactions (both investment and development), bridging (short term) finance transactions and general corporate banking (including refinancings and reorganisations). Andrew has specialist expertise in advising registered housing providers in the social housing sector on their borrowing requirements. He also has a strong track record in private equity transactions and has worked with many investors to ensure that they take a strategic approach to investing in companies during various stages of development. On the lending side, Andrew’s clients include high street clearing banks, alternative and secondary lenders, debt funds and bridging finance providers. On the borrowing side, he advises corporates, registered housing providers and individuals. Known for remaining calm under pressure and his keen eye for the finer details, Andrew is an outstanding project manager with the ability to explain issues in a clear and concise manner. He takes a highly collaborative approach with clients, ensuring that he stays focused on achieving their objectives through regular calls and email updates.

Partner CorporatePharmacyChris is widely regarded as one of the UK’s most able and experienced lawyers in retail pharmacy and corporate law. He has advised on over 400 pharmacy transactions, and leads the firm’s nationally-regarded pharmacy team. Chris has been rated in the Legal 500 directory as “highly skilled” and someone who “always does an excellent job”. He has also been rated in Chambers & Partners as “approachable, diligent and knowledgeable” and has “significant experience in the healthcare and retail industry sectors”. Sources praise him for “always fighting the client's corner” and for being “exceptionally proactive”. Chris has expertise in advising corporate clients on all forms of corporate transactional work. Chris is part of our wider corporate finance team and regularly leads on successful deals with values of up to £30m, including: Acquisitions and disposals Venture capital investments MBOs and MBIs Joint ventures, de-mergers and company restructuring Chris acts for a wide range of clients, from individual investors and small partnerships to large private and public limited companies, including a major regional charity, a leading northern university and a number of major national banks. However, Chris mostly enjoys working with owner-managed businesses where he can develop strong relationships with his clients and add value to their growing businesses. Chris' clients and peers have the following to say about him: "Christian is an exceptional individual with great technical, organisational and project management skills. He is one of the most efficient and effective corporate lawyers I have ever come across. I very highly recommend Christian for corporate legal work in general and for his pharmacy specialism in particular." "Christian is without doubt the most commercially-aware solicitor that I have dealt with in the legal sector. His knowledge and understanding of the pharmacy sector (in which he is a market leader), and also of owner-managed businesses generally, stands him head and shoulders above the other legal advisers I have worked on transactions with. However, the quality I have always admired in Christian is that he takes a devoted interest in the well-being and success of his clients and works closely with them as part of their team to achieve those goals in a creative and efficient manner." "Brilliant solicitor." "He is thorough in his approach and leaves the client absolutely confident that what needs to be done has been done - without the need for reminders or checks. Christian always makes the time to respond to even the smallest of queries and has the ability to make you feel like the only client he has to contend with - even when you know that he is extremely busy. I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Christian - you know that the job will be done!" "Christian was approachable and helpful from the outset. He put me at ease, knew his subject inside out and always explained every detail and advised me every step of the way. Not only would I use him again, I can't recommend him highly enough." "We have used Christian on a number of occasions and he never fails to give us first class advice and a great deal of added value. He has helped us steer our company through some difficult times and we have always been reassured when he is on the end of the phone. I'm delighted to thoroughly recommend Christian."

Becky is a Legal Director in our property team. She is an experienced commercial property lawyer who specialises in commercial lease transactions (acting for both landlords and tenants), property acquisitions and disposals (both freehold and leasehold) as well as general portfolio management work. Becky acts for a wide range of clients including household name retailers, large property investment firms, small owner-managed businesses and individual investors.She also advises on renewals and procedures under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. In addition, Becky works with colleagues on various retail and manufacturing-based projects.

Kieran Wilkinson

PartnerCommercial Property Kieran is a partner in Shulman’s Real Estate team, having been with the firm since 2003. Kieran’s ability to deal with complex estate management work in an effective, efficient manner is valued by his clients. Kieran deals with a wide range of matters for both single-asset and large portfolio clients, including: Investment sales and purchases, including advice on how to structure transactions Landlord and tenant work Complex estate management, acting for landlords in respect of industrial estates and city centre office buildings Acting for landed estates Telecommunications work, acting for site owners on the grant and renewal of telecoms leases Kieran advises a wide variety of clients alongside property and corporate colleagues. Key clients include: Evans Property Group Edwin Woodhouse & Co Ltd The Savile Estate Ramac Group Living Care Pharmacy Kieran also provides specialist property and property finance support as part of delivering wider corporate transactions, including: The healthcare sector Pharmacy sales and purchases Kieran was named as a “Next Generation Lawyer” in the Legal 500 2018 and 2019 rankings. Sale of a multi-let large office building in the centre of Leeds for in excess of £20,000,000. Ongoing portfolio management work for a regenerated mill development in Farsley.