Stephen Berry > Acuity Law > Cardiff, United Kingdom > Lawyer Profile

Acuity Law
3 ASSEMBLY SQUARE
BRITANNIA QUAY, CARDIFF BAY
CARDIFF
CF10 4PL
United Kingdom

Work Department

Corporate

Position

Steve is Chairman and founding partner at Acuity Law, with over 25 years of top-level experience both in the UK and internationally.

A highly experienced corporate lawyer and dealmaker with a demonstrable track record of advising on numerous high-value M&A transactions, Stephen is widely recognised as a leader in his field. He is listed as a leading individual in The Legal 500 and has a Band 1 ranking from Chambers and Partners.

With extensive experience advising on complex, often highly technical and intricate finance structures and partnerships between the private and public sectors, clients describe him as “very good, pragmatic, commercial and doesn’t mess around.”

Steve has board-level experience of working with growth companies from early-stage funding through to exit and has a particular interest in technology-backed ventures.

Expertise:

  • Corporate deals and transactions including mergers, acquisitions and disposals
  • Private equity-funded transactions and PE backed buy and build strategies
  • Commercial projects and contracts including long-term contracts between the private and public sectors
  • Banking and finance structures, including complex and structured arrangements
  • Restructuring and distressed situations

Lawyer Rankings

Wales > Corporate and commercial

(Leading individuals)

Stephen BerryAcuity Law

Blending transactional strength with governance and commercial contracts prowess, Acuity Law provides an all-encompassing service to clients from a range of sectors, including healthcare and life sciences, technology, retail and education. Christian Farrow  is well-versed at advising on domestic and cross-border transactions, including M&A and joint venture (JV) structuring in the financial services and renewables sectors. In addition, he has been pivotal to the firm’s pioneering use of technology to assist clients, including the firm’s long-standing Acuity Counsel subscription service and the nascent Document Assist product which enables companies to easily produce high-quality legal documents themselves. Beverley Jones  co-heads the corporate side of the practice alongside Farrow, and as well as her M&A work in the healthcare sector, is also gaining traction among fund clients, including Warwick Capital for their investment activity. Jon Lawley has also developed a strong reputation within the healthcare space, most specifically as a result of his ongoing work for Portman Dental Care, the largest active acquirer of dental practices in the UK. As well as his work for university spin-out clients, Phil Pugh also handles commercial and transactional matters for technology and IT clients, an area of the practice which was strengthened at the beginning of 2022 by the arrival of Declan Goodwin  from Vistra Corporate Law (he  now heads up the commercial and technology sub-group). Senior associate Tom Saunderson continues to impress as a result of his private equity and early stage venture capital expertise, while at a more senior level, both Paul Lowe and firm chairman Stephen Berry  are key resources for clients as a result of their vast knowledgebase which has been developed over their many years in practice.