Walkers‘ corporate group takes on cross-border M&A and restructuring mandates in equal measure, acting for financial services providers and asset managers on the Guernsey aspects of their undertakings. The group is led jointly by Craig Cordle, who tackles both public and private mergers, as well as associated regulatory challenges, and Guernsey managing partner Matt Sanders, who handles the structuring and subsequent restructuring of corporate entities, in addition to guiding cross-border transactions. Jessica Robinson is noted for her transactional and restructuring expertise in the insurance sector, while Charlotte Gonçalves provides advice on questions of, inter alia, governance and data protection.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- Craig Cordle - unparalleled understanding of the law of investment funds. Sharp turnaround of complex work. Brings solutions every time. William Schofield - par excellence in all aspects of legal advisory and transaction management. An invaluable resource to our firm. Cannot recommend highly enough.
- Commercially astute, technically excellent, pragmatic transactional intelligence delivered in real time.
- Technical knowledge, personal skills and client service.
- A personal approach, technical ability, availability, and a good reputation. Matt Sanders, Jessica Robinson and Charlotte Gonçalves are leading professionals in their field. Charlotte has put a lot of time into the new PIF legislation and she explains things very simply.
- Jess Robinson was very bright and efficient. Her advice was always sound, and she was aware of certain sensitivities to the wider arrangement. Chris Hutley-Hurst was also very experienced and provided straightforward advice. Both of these lawyers worked well together, and it felt as though I was in good hands.
- The Walkers team is extremely responsive, approachable and pragmatic. They are very good at explaining complicated and Guernsey-specific concepts clearly and with relevance to background context. The team is also good at dealing with all aspects of corporate transactions, from regulatory considerations to Guernsey-related aspects of transaction documents, including management warranty deeds. Walkers were objectively impressive and a pleasure to work with.
- The breadth of expertise and deep knowledge across the practice means that they are brilliant at seamlessly supporting cross-border deals. For deals that have an investment fund element, they are the go-to given the experience in the team. The team produces a very high standard of work on matters that are often complex. They are very responsive and are flexible and accommodating in terms of speed of turnaround and providing commercially attuned advice.
- The people I have worked with most and that stand out are Matt Sanders, Chris Hutley Hurst, and Jessica Robinson. Each of them has always shown technical excellence and responsiveness on transactions and is also very approachable and always very helpful in getting the deal done.
- They are always extremely responsive and able to meet tight deadlines without complaint. They understand what matters to the client, what does not matter, and what is "nice to have."
- Chris Hutley-Hurst is very responsive and very commercial; he always has a constructive answer and understands the gap between legal theory and commercial reality.
Key clients
- Equitix
- One Rock Capital Partners LLC
- Investec Limited
- Willis Towers Watson
- Fort Group
- Oaktree
- Aston CM Guernsey Limited
- Tetragon
- Universities Superannuation Scheme
- Warburg Pincus
- GoldenTree Asset Management
- Stonepeak
- Gemsstock
- Clipway
- Seedcamp
Work highlights
Assisted Equitix with the Guernsey law elements of a number of transactions, most notably the acquisition of 100% of the equity in Ventus Investment Limited and its subsidiaries.
Advised Fort Management Services Limited on its acquisition of Cogent Limited.
Acted for The International Stock Exchange Group Limited in respect of its acquisition by Miami International Holdings.
Lawyers
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Practice head
Matt Sanders; Craig Cordle
Other key lawyers
Chris Hutley-Hurst; Jessica Robinson; Charlotte Gonçalves; Angela Proctor