Regularly instructed by international investment funds and clients across the fields of finance, insurance and property, Appleby‘s multi-disciplinary corporate and commercial practice acts on some of the most prominent corporate transactions on the Isle of Man. The practice heads are Garry Manley, whose breadth of expertise covers M&A, insolvencies, and restructuring, as well as corporate governance matters and post-acquisition integration, and Juan Thornley, whose recent work includes advising major investment funds and listed companies on sales and regulatory compliance. The bench depth of the department is demonstrated by funds expert Katherine Garrood, experienced corporate associate Darryl Jago and financial specialist Sophie Corkish.
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Profile
Work Department
Corporate
Position
Garry Manley is a partner in the Isle of Man office who advises on a broad range of Isle of Man and BVI corporate transactions. He has extensive experience of advising on domestic and cross-border mergers & acquisitions and venture capital/private equity investments, with a particular focus on regulated financial services and insurance businesses.
In addition to his M&A practice, Garry is one of the Isle of Man’s leading regulatory lawyers, with a particular focus on insurance companies, banks and corporate service providers. Garry’s insurance work sees him advising many of the Isle of Man’s leading insurance groups and insurance managers on the full spectrum of matters including M&A transactions, portfolio transfers, new authorisations, change of control applications and ongoing business regulation, including solvency issues. In addition to the regulation of traditional sectors, Garry advises on a range of novel and developing regulated industries, including payment services and cryptoassets. He is a pre-eminent thought-leader in respect of the regulated cannabis sector on the Isle of Man and is also distinguished in the area of economic substance, having been the only lawyer on the Isle of Man government’s public-private working group since 2019. He also supports clients in contentious regulatory matters, including regulatory investigations and enforcement proceedings, alongside colleagues in Appleby’s market-leading disputes team.
Garry has a first- class law degree from Oxford University, and before joining Appleby he practised for almost a decade as a mergers & acquisitions and transactional private equity specialist in the London, Hong Kong and New York offices of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.
In addition to his advisory work, Garry frequently provides input into legislative developments across a broad range of topics. He was closely involved in the development of the Isle of Man’s first merger control regime, and he has also been consulted about legislative developments in the areas of company law, cannabis regulation, economic substance and beneficial ownership.
Career
Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales; Isle of Man Advocate; Solicitor in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (British Virgin Islands).
Education
Garry received a First Class law degree from Oxford University, where he placed in the top 10 in his year and received numerous academic awards, including the Quadrant Chambers Prize for obtaining the highest mark in the university in one of his papers.
- Oxford University (University College)
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'We dealt with Garry Manley on a complex transaction under tight timelines. They were responsive and comprehensive in how they deal with us on due diligence which we appreciated. Garry led the team very well and we were pleased with the output. Appleby is our go-to firm in the Isle of Man.' 'They were responsive and comprehensive in how they dealt with us which we appreciated. They have great experience so it was pretty seamless dealing with them. We dealt with Garry Manley mainly who was great to deal with.' 'The team did an excellent job in ensuring all role-players stayed fully informed, understood requirements and met deadlines.' 'Garry Manley was clear and pragmatic, ensuring we fully understood the risk associated with any particular course of action.'
Key clients
- Grant Thornton Advisors LLC British American Tobacco Plc Tesco Stores Limited Zurich Insurance Group Peel Group Utmost Group Monument Re Limited Playtech Plc International Financial Group Limited Strix Plc Alvarium Investments Pension SuperFund Capital Admenta Holdings Ltd LeoVegas AB Standard Chartered Group
Work highlights
Advised British American Tobacco Plc on its block trade of 436,851,457 ordinary shares of ITC Limited to institutional investors by way of an accelerated bookbuild process.
Acted as Isle of Man and Guernsey counsel to Grant Thornton Advisors LLC on its combination with Grant Thornton Ireland’s advisory and tax businesses.
Advised RL360 Life Insurance Company Limited on its acquisition of Isle of Man Assurance Limited’s wealth book of business, which comprises approximately 1,900 life insurance policies.