John Lewis > Mourant > St Peter Port, Guernsey > Lawyer Profile

At Mourant, commercial real estate lawyers advises corporates with interests in Guernsey property, as well as occupiers on a variety of matters, including sales and purchases, leasing and developments. The group consists of practitioners with dual-Guernsey and English law qualifications, enabling it to handle cross-border deals. In addition to pure commercial property work, Laura Bougourd also has expertise in the property aspects of corporate transactions; Alison Wood has a busy practice acting for landlords, tenants and developers of new residential and commercial properties. The group is overseen by managing partner John Lewis.

At Mourant, practitioners handle the spectrum of corporate transactions, including public and private M&A, where it advises targets, bidders, financial advisors and financial institutions. In terms of M&A, the team has experience in Guernsey, UK and cross-border deals, continuing to handle high-profile local M&A, particularly in the financial sector, where it is able to provide regulatory advice. It is also regularly instructed on reorganisations and is increasingly known for it’s ESG work. Frances Watson  is well-known for public and private M&A, and transactions involving family offices; John Lewis is oriented towards private M&A and corporate transactions for private wealth clients; John Rochester  is well versed in transactions involving real estate. Practice head Helen Wyatt  is another key name, and is able to utilise expertise in financial services regulations.

Mourant fields ‘a strong insurance team with a good knowledge of how local laws tend to interact with laws in other jurisdictions‘. The group, which sits between the corporate and litigation departments, is most known for focusing on insurance sector M&A deals, but it is also well-versed in policy and coverage issues, as well as issues pertaining to captive insurance linked securities and life insurance. Helen Wyatt  heads the team and alongside John Lewis, is adept at transactional work. Gordon Dawes  is an insurance litigation expert, focusing on professional indemnity. D&I, coverage and regulatory enforcement claims; also areas of focus for counsel Chantal Barrett.

The team at Mourant is commended by clients as ‘enormously responsive with prompt turnaround’. The practice spans the gamut of offshore banking and finance work and is most noted for real estate finance, but it is also adept at private equity transactions, and asset finance, where it stands out for aircraft financings. John Rochester  is known for advising major financial institutions on the offshore elements of their finance transactions. John Lewis  focuses on fund finance, refinancing and restructuring; ‘friendly, responsive, pragmatic‘ Frances Watson  provides financial regulatory advice, as well as assisting with restructurings. Alana Gillies Ridout specialises in real estate finance. The team is led by Helen Wyatt .