The Legal 500 > Dentons > Milton Keynes, ENGLAND

South East: Corporate and commercial

Corporate and commercial: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx

Corporate and commercial: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx - ranked: tier 1

Dentons

Dentons' Milton Keynes-based corporate and commercial team stands out for its global focus, which is reflected in the increasing number of cross-border and international transactions in which it has been involved. The client portfolio includes a number of prestigious owner-managed businesses and well-known UK-based companies. The team has specific expertise in the automotive sector. Managing partner and practice head Andrew Harris specialises in transactional M&A, private equity and funding work. Peter Cox , Christopher Colclough and senior associate Faye Garvey are also recommended.

Practice head(s):Andrew Harris

Other key lawyers:Peter Cox; Christopher Colclough; Faye Garvey; Fasil Hussain; Ryan Chia

Testimonials

'We have an excellent, open relationship with this team'.

'They are responsive, knowledgeable, solution minded and proactive'.

'The team is lead by people who display an appetite to partnership, high ethics and a positive attitude'.

'The team members take all aspects seriously, respond proactively and are keen to ensure they go the extra mile to bring resolution to matters'.

'Peter Cox and Faye Garvey are outstanding members of the team'.

'Ryan Chia is an up and coming talent making a name for himself in Milton Keynes advising corporate clients'.

Key Clients

Marshall Motor Holdings plc

Group 1 Automotive UK Limited

Polyco Healthline Limited

Tripod Crest Limited

Home Décor GB Limited

Africa Mobile Networks

Informa plc

Work highlights

Represented Group 1 Automotive UK in its acquisition of Robinson Autostar Garages Holdings Limited.
Advised Silverstone Circuits on the sale of the business and assets of its Lotus dealership located at the Silverstone circuit.
Advised the client on the pre-acquisition and reorganisation of Medicare Products Limited and subsequent acquisition of Medicare Products Limited.
Assisted the client with the sale of its Granite Dynamic business to Precision Stone.
Advised the client on the sale of the entire issued share capital of Convergent Holdings London Limited to Six Degrees Investments Limited.

Next Generation Partners

Christopher Colclough - Dentons

Peter Cox - Dentons

Rising stars

Fasil Hussain - Dentons

Faye Garvey - Dentons

Ryan Chia - Dentons

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South East: Dispute resolution

Commercial litigation: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx

Commercial litigation: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx - ranked: tier 1

Dentons

Dentons’ commercial litigation practice stands out for its expertise in international work, particularly in the field of financial disputes and investigations. The team specialises also in professional negligence and breach of contract disputes, franchising, product liability, asset finance, fraud and construction. Clients are from the banking, insurance, construction, energy, automotive, sports, retail and leisure sectors. James Fairbairn and Tim Constable head the practice from the Milton Keynes and Watford offices respectively. Watford-based Clare Stothard and Steven Mills are specialists in investment and retail banking disputes.

Practice head(s):James Fairbairn; Tim Constable

Other key lawyers:Clare Stothard; Steven Mills

Testimonials

'Tim Constable is brilliant'.

Key Clients

Sainsbury's

Virgin

Total

Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Haringey (Haringey Council)

National House-Building Council

Sainsbury's Argos

Network Rail Infrastructure Limited

Taylor Wimpey

Saracens Ltd

Hertz

Cox Powertrain Limited

Barclays

Work highlights

Assisting Mr Davies with a dispute concerning the misappropriate use of company assets by former directors of a company in which he was the majority shareholder.
Advising an Asian property development company on defending a breach of contract claim worth around US$1.12m.
Provided a range of dispute resolution services to Group One Automotive (one of the largest retailers of new and used cars in the world) in the UK.
Advising a large Middle East retailer on defending claims of over £10m debt incurred by former subsidiaries in Spain and the UAE.
Assisting client with defence of a multi-party claim for specific performance of a property development agreement.

Leading individuals

James Fairbairn - Dentons

Tim Constable - Dentons

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South East: Finance

Banking and finance

Banking and finance - ranked: tier 1

Dentons

The banking and finance team at Dentons is on the legal panel for several major UK banks, while also acting regularly for overseas banks as well as for high-profile regional and international borrowers. The practice’s sector specialism includes automotive, manufacturing, TMT, financial institutions and real estate. Peter Cox heads the practice. Senior associate Faye Garvey is another name to note.

Practice head(s):Peter Cox

Other key lawyers:Faye Garvey

Key Clients

HSBC UK Bank

Lloyds Banking Group

British Arab Commercial Bank

RBS/NatWest

Metro Bank

P J Care Group

NHBC

Marshall Motor Holdings plc

Work highlights

Acted for the Metro Bank on a strategic real estate finance deal.
Acted for British Arab Commercial Bank on its provision of a £15m development term loan.
Acted for PJ Care upon its refinancing of its then current term loan facility from Clydesdale through a new term loan facility Handelsbanken.
Acted for NHBC in connection with a security package to help mitigate its risk.
Acted for HSBC UK Bank on a £10m term loan to an AIM-listed customer.

Insolvency and corporate recovery

Insolvency and corporate recovery - ranked: tier 3

Dentons

Dentons' Watford based insolvency team continues to focus on working with the UK's leading clearing banks. Working in conjunction with the firm's London office, it is able to cover the whole range of insolvency and restructuring work. With international and cross-border experience, Andrea Dunsby heads the team along with property and personal insolvency expert Steven Mills, who also heads the Watford office and Dentons' regional banking litigation practice.

Practice head(s):Steven Mills; Andrea Dunsby

Other key lawyers:Mark Goward

Key Clients

Avison Young

BDO LLP

Begbies Traynor LLP

Eddisons Commercial Limited

GVA (Bilfinger)

Jones Lang LaSalle

Lambert Smith Hampton Group

Griffins

Moore Stephens LLP

Carter Backer Winter

Work highlights

Acting for Moore Stephens as trustees in bankruptcy of a bankrupt solicitor.
Acting for Moore Stephens as joint trustees in bankruptcy of an individual property investor.
Acting for Griffins as joint liquidators of a company.
Acting for Moore Stephens as liquidator of an historical friendly society in relation to how surplus assets should be distributed to members where the Companies Act is not necessarily determinative.
Acting for a former director of a company against whom the joint liquidators are threatening legal action.

South East: Human resources

Employment: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx

Employment: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx - ranked: tier 1

Dentons

The Milton Keynes-based employment team at Dentons is part of the nationwide people, reward and mobility practice, which specialises in a wide range of employment, benefits and immigration matters. The team has a longstanding expertise at the international level, catering for prestigious clients in the retail, transport, technology, media and telecommunications sectors. Sarah Beeby heads the practice. Senior associates Verity Buckingham and Michelle Lamb are also recommended.

Practice head(s):Sarah Beeby

Other key lawyers:Verity Buckingham; Michelle Lamb

Testimonials

'They offer a practical and commercial approach to employment and HR matters.'

'I would highlight their ability to understand the commercial aspects of situations and the sound and practical advice they give for you to be able to achieve the results you need.'

'I have always found the team reliable, responsive and solution-focused.'

'They are a pleasure to work with and an invaluable partner for our team.'

Key Clients

TUI UK Retail/TUI Airways

Barclays Bank plc

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co Partners LLP

Auria Solutions Ltd

Cognita Schools Limited

Calsonic Kansei

Topland Group Holdings Limited

Wizz Air

Operative

Virgin Atlantic Airways

Sainsbury's/Argos

Avis Budget Group

Sodexo Motivation Solutions UK Limited

Amalia Illgner

Weetabix

Acelity

Royal Mail Group

Rackspace

Work highlights

Advised KKR on the employment aspects of its €6.85bn acquisition of Unilever's global spreads business.
Advising Auria Solutions Ltd on the implementation of bonus plans across 11 jurisdictions.
Advising Cognita Schools Limited on all UK employment-related matters – including the defence of employment tribunal litigation, disciplinary and grievance issues, senior exits and general advice.
Advised CK Holdings on the employment aspects of its €6.2bn acquisition of Magneti Marelli.
Advising Wizz Air on the employment aspects of establishing its business in the UK.

Rising stars

Michelle Lamb - Dentons

Verity Buckingham - Dentons

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Immigration

Immigration - ranked: tier 1

Dentons

Dentons handles the full spectrum of business immigration matters, including applications of sponsorship, advising on temporary and permanent visa applications and also acts as Level 1 users in managing and addressing Home Office compliance issues. Associate Verity Buckingham heads the practice from the Milton Keynes office.

Practice head(s):Verity Buckingham

Testimonials

'The team at Dentons are knowledgeable, punctual, resourceful, and provided personalised service - knew every one of our members by name and their individual circumstances. Associate Verity Buckingham is truly dedicated and is remarkably impressive.'

Key Clients

Ocean Partners UK Limited

Providentia Capital LLP

Sonia Friedman Productions Ltd

ADAM Asset Management Ltd

Asylum Aid

Work highlights

Advising the charity on a pro bono basis in helping to ascertain nationality for stateless individuals.
Assisted with a successful application for leave to remain following an initial refusal.
Assisted the client with an urgent sponsor licence application and CoS allocation request to enable the client to employ a migrant before a current visa expired.

Rising stars

Verity Buckingham - Dentons

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South East: Insurance

Professional negligence

Professional negligence - ranked: tier 1

Dentons

Dentons is skilled in handling high-value negligence matters for its international roster of clients, which include major financial institutions, blue-chip companies, and high-net-worth private individuals. Milton Keynes-based James Fairbairn is the key name to note, bringing a blend of his litigation experience to professional negligence matters. Also recommended is practice head Tim Constable in the Watford office.

Practice head(s):Tim Constable

Other key lawyers:James Fairbairn

Key Clients

Royal Bank of Scotland

Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Haringey

National House-Building Council (NHBC)

West Bromwich Building Society

Co-Operative Bank

Barclays Bank

Work highlights

Representing Haringey Council in a £7m professional negligence claim against NPS Property Consultants Limited for negligent design and contract administration services in relation to the extension of a primary school.
Acting for a private individual in a claim against a nationally recognised specialist firm of solicitors arising out of their failure to issue personal injury proceedings within the correct limitation period.
Representing a high-net-worth individual in a professional negligence claim against Hughes, Jay & Panter for negligent contract administration and quantity surveying services in relation to the extension and refurbishment of a £4m Grade 2 listed property.
Representing NHBC in a professional negligence claim against Clancy Consulting Ltd (consultant) and Sadler Brown (architect) for negligent design and project management/contract administration services in relation to the defective replacement of a five storey glazed façade in an apartment building suffering from water ingress.
Acting for a number of banks in claims against solicitors for negligence and breach of trust arising out of imposter fraud.

Leading individuals

James Fairbairn - Dentons

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South East: Real estate

Commercial property: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx

Commercial property: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx - ranked: tier 1

Dentons

Milton Keynes-based Dentons’ practice is a leader across the full range of commercial property matters, including development and house building, real estate finance, infrastructure and regeneration. Its domestic and international clients are drawn from sectors including retail, banking, the automotive industry, logistics, education and the public sector. Roland Gray heads the team. Robert Wyatt and Greg Rigby are other names to note.

Practice head(s):Roland Gray

Other key lawyers:Robert Wyatt; Greg Rigby

Key Clients

Sainsbury's

ATS Euromaster Limited

Argos Limited

Kier

Standard Chartered Bank

Taylor Wimpey

Nokia UK Limited

Network Rail

Citi Bank

UBS Bank

British Arab Commercial Bank

Avis Budget Group

John Lewis Partnership

Oak Furniture Land

Royal Mail Group

Scania (Great Britain) Limited

Southampton City Council

Department for Work and Pensions

Transport for London

Work highlights

Acted for Group 1 Automotive on its acquisition of Robinsons Motor Group.
Assisting Standard Chartered Bank with a £18m financing of a super-prime London residential property.
Acting for Taylor Wimpey in the acquisition of a new housing development.
Ongoing portfolio management for the Department for Work and Pensions.
Acting for John Lewis on the re-gear of its department store in Westfield Stratford City.

Leading individuals

Robert Wyatt - Dentons

Roland Gray - Dentons

Rising stars

Greg Rigby - Dentons

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Construction

Construction - ranked: tier 2

Dentons

Led by Jane Miles, who is noted for her transactional expertise, Dentons' Milton Keynes office focuses exclusively on non-contentious construction. The majority of the group's notable client list comprises of major developers and fund clients. In addition to advising on the day-to-day construction complexities of live projects, the team assists clients with negotiating contractual changes and drafting bespoke agreements.

Practice head(s):Jane Miles

Testimonials

'Dentons' construction team was skilled at adapting building contracts and consultant appointments to suit our needs; it collaborates seamlessly with the real estate practice'.

Key Clients

Troy Verdion

Kier Property Developments Limited

Network Rail Infrastructure Limited

McArthur Glenn

Sports Direct

Sainsbury's Supermarkets Limited

Taylor Wimpey

HSBC

John Lewis

Viridis

Work highlights

Advising Verdion on all aspects of the circa £400 million multi-phase and multi-tenanted six million sq. ft. rail and freight logistics development project on 337 acres of greenfield land in Doncaster.
Acting for Kier Property Developments Limited on a multimillion pound multi-phased, multi-tenanted retail, leisure and trade city development in Reading.
Acting for Cannock Designer Outlet Limited Partnership on the construction and infrastructure contracts for phase one of the new designer outlet at Cannock, which is under construction.
Acted for Viridis on the circa £15m redevelopment high-profile letting of commercial premises in London to LinkedIn.
Advising MM! The Party in relation to their bespoke fit out of new premises, in order for MM! The Party to provide a 'singing party theatre'.

Next Generation Partners

Jane Miles - Dentons

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Property litigation

Property litigation - ranked: tier 1

Dentons

Bryan Johnston heads up Dentons' 'commercially aware' real estate litigation group, which has 'superb technical knowledge'. The 15-strong team regularly acts for global banks, residential developers, insurers, retailers and public sector bodies. In 2018, the firm handled cases at the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal. Senior associate Gemma Hunter-Barnes has experience of acting for clients such as Network Rail and Sports Direct in contentious property matters.

Practice head(s):Bryan Johnston

Other key lawyers:Gemma Hunter-Barnes

Testimonials

'Able to approach high-value complex property litigation with both sound legal analysis and good tactical judgment'.

'Proactive and client focused property litigation experts'.

'Dentons are very approachable and a collaborative approach with counsel; they take the smaller instructions just as seriously as the larger ones'.

Key Clients

Network Rail

Sainsbury's

Sports Direct

Taylor Wimpey

RBS

Knight Frank

Topland

UBS AG

Thomson Reuters

RBS

Avis

Work highlights

Successfully acting for receivers of Knight Frank on a complex and multi-million pound recovery case of a property in West London.
Acting for The David Roberts Art Foundation Limited on multi-million pound sale enforcement claim.
Successfully acting for Sainsbury's in a landmark Court of Appeal decision about the ratings of ATMs.
Advising leading investment fund, GE, in a complex lease dispute against global telecoms operator, EE.
Advising global hedge fund, Cerberus, on enforcement against residential assets following loan default.

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South East: TMT (technology, media and telecoms)

IT and telecoms

IT and telecoms - ranked: tier 3

Dentons

Dentons' Thames Valley team focuses on non-contentious IT advice, for clients both within the software industry, and those outside seeking IT advice. The team has particular experience with retail sector clients, bolstered further by the addition of senior associate Nick Harrison, who rejoined from an in-house position to head the team. The team also has a strong record of procurement, contract, and outsourcing advice in the automotive, Oil and Gas, and media spheres.

Practice head(s):Nick Harrison

Key Clients

TOTAL (Total Lindsey Oil Refinery Limited)

The Sainsbury's Group

The John Lewis Partnership

Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales

Saracens Limited

NHBC

Sita Information Networking Computing UK Limited

United Bank of Egypt

Mavens Limited

Polyco Healthline Limited

Work highlights

Represented United Bank of Egypt in its acquisition of a new banking trading platform.
Representing SITA with regard to its airport telecommunications and technology contracts.
Assisting TOTAL with all IT and business-to-business contracts and issues.
Provision of advice to Mavens on all IT contracts, IT and commercial issues, data protection and other commercial contract matters.
Drafting a new set of template supply agreements for TOTAL Computer Networks Limited and advising on a host of contracts for the supply of both hardware and software with major customers and clients.

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Further information on Dentons

Please choose from this list to view details of what we say about Dentons in other jurisdictions.

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Structured finance and securitisation

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Offices in Doha

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Offices in Moscow and St Petersburg

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Offices in Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Edinburgh

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Offices in Milton Keynes and Watford

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Offices in San Francisco, New York, Rancho Sante Fe, Orange County, San Diego, Washington DC, St Louis, New York, Kansas City, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Atlanta, Albany, Los Angeles, Denver, San Diego, San Francisco, Dallas, Phoenix, Short Hills, Silicon Valley, Downtown, Atlanta, Boston, Miami, New Orleans, McLean, Houston, Mclean, and Honolulu

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Offices in Tashkent and Tashkent

Leading firms

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Offices in Caracas

Top-tier Firm rankings

Firm Rankings

South East: Corporate and commercial

Corporate and commercial: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx

Testimonials

Key Clients

Work highlights

South East: Dispute resolution

Commercial litigation: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx

Testimonials

Key Clients

Work highlights

South East: Finance

Banking and finance

Key Clients

Work highlights

Insolvency and corporate recovery

Key Clients

Work highlights

South East: Human resources

Employment: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx

Testimonials

Key Clients

Work highlights

Immigration

Testimonials

Key Clients

Work highlights

South East: Insurance

Professional negligence

Key Clients

Work highlights

South East: Real estate

Commercial property: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx

Key Clients

Work highlights

Construction

Testimonials

Key Clients

Work highlights

Property litigation

Testimonials

Key Clients

Work highlights

South East: TMT (technology, media and telecoms)

IT and telecoms

Key Clients

Work highlights

Further information on Dentons

United Arab Emirates

Australia

Azerbaijan

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Czech Republic

Germany

Egypt

Spain

France

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Hong Kong

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