Sara Pickersgill > Kirkland & Ellis International LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP Offices
30 ST MARY AXE
LONDON
EC3A 8AF
England
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Sara Pickersgill
Work Department
Mergers & Acquisitions
Position
Sara Pickersgill is a corporate partner in the London office of Kirkland & Ellis International LLP. She has over 20 years’ experience advising private equity sponsors and infrastructure funds on complex domestic and cross-border M&A transactions with a particular focus in the infrastructure, digital, energy and renewable sectors.
Career
2023 to present Kirkland & Ellis International LLP; 2002-2023 Allen & Overy LLP
Education
Nottingham Law School (LPC 2000); Nottingham Law School (GDL 1999); Cambridge University (B.A., Human, Social and Political Sciences 1998)
Lawyer Rankings
London > Corporate and commercial > Private equity: transactions – high-value deals (£250m+)
‘City powerhouse‘ Kirkland & Ellis International LLP is variously praised by clients for its ‘deep market knowledge‘ and ‘high customer service’. It maintains a dominant position in the London market, acting for leading buyout names on multi-billion-pound acquisitions, exits, and take-privates. In recent months, the team has taken steps to concentrate its position further with the hire of infrastructure specialist Sara Pickersgill, who joined from Allen & Overy in January 2023. The large practice is jointly chaired by David Higgins, a key contact for many of the firm’s top clients, and Matthew Elliott, whose recent highlights include big-ticket acquisitions and divestments in the infrastructure and real estate sectors. Adrian Maguire is regularly engaged on multi-billion-dollar transactions, most recently in the manufacturing and life sciences arenas, while the ‘vastly experienced‘ Stuart Boyd is lauded for bringing ‘a real gravitas to the negotiating table.‘ Other names to note include Celyn Evans, whose sponsor-side practice is focused on the infrastructure and real asset sectors. David Holdsworth left to become general counsel at TDR Capital in January 2023, while Tom McCarthy left for a position at Triton Partners in October 2022. Rachel Wolfenden joined Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP in December 2022. Partner Roger Johnson left the firm in August 2023.
London > Projects, energy and natural resources > Infrastructure: M&A and acquisition financing
(Hall of fame: Corporate M&A)Kirkland & Ellis International LLP made a significant impression in the City infrastructure market with the hire of Sara Pickersgill from A&O Shearman and James Boswell and Toby Parkinson from Clifford Chance LLP at the start of 2023, a move which allows the firm to act for an ever-expanding portfolio of national and global clients in the energy and infrastructure sectors. The sponsor-focused team advises a number of private equity funds investing in this space, and its offering is further strengthened by the global firm’s ESG practice. While still a developing practice, the team has been engaged in a number of premium M&A deals, fund formations, joint ventures and corporate restructurings, with strong expertise in utility, digital infrastructure, and energy transition mandates. Pickersgill is a leading M&A partner who regularly advises top-end sponsors on high profile mandates, while Boswell leverages more than 20 years’ debt finance experience to advise sponsors and borrowers on financing a broad array of acquisitions, including multi-sourced platform financings, holdco financings and equity bridge loans. Parkinson is a highly-regarded M&A practitioner, with his industry experience working as a director at OMERS an extra selling point for clients. The firm also added James McGivern and Emma Shelston from Linklaters LLP and A&O Shearman as partners in 2023, with the former largely focusing on debt finance and regulatory work, and the latter on M&A.
Lawyer Rankings
- Hall of fame: Corporate M&A London > Projects, energy and natural resources > Infrastructure: M&A and acquisition financing
- Infrastructure: M&A and acquisition financing London > Projects, energy and natural resources
- Private equity: transactions – high-value deals (£250m+) London > Corporate and commercial
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Finance > Acquisition finance
- Finance > Corporate restructuring & insolvency
- Finance > High yield
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Infrastructure: M&A and acquisition financing
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious)
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: white-collar crime (advice to individuals)
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Upper Mid-Market And Premium Deals, £750m+
- Corporate and commercial > Private equity: transactions – high-value deals (£250m+)
- Investment fund formation and management > Private funds
- Investment fund formation and management > Real estate funds
Firm Rankings
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate tax
- Investment fund formation and management > Fund finance
- Real estate > Property finance
- Risk advisory > Regulatory investigations and corporate crime (advice to corporates)
- Corporate and commercial > EU and competition
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: non-contentious/regulatory
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- Industry focus > Life sciences and healthcare
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: contentious
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: premium