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England - West Midlands • Corporate and commercial
3

Corporate and commercial: Birmingham

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The Wilkes Partnership

More information
Showcasing a strong track record in high-value acquisitions and sales of issued share capital, The Wilkes Partnership’s ‘commercial approach’ attracts multinational companies and entrepreneurs. Team head Gareth O’Hara is a specialist in the automotive retail sector. Rick Smyth routinely acts for major shareholders in buyouts, while Jeremy Parkin is a commercial contracts expert. Lucy Freeman is experienced in fundraisings and corporate reorganisations. Helen Smart is also recommended.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Wilkes takes a commercial approach to legal documents, rather than a dogmatic legal interpretation.’

  • ‘Rick Smyth and Lucy Freeman are pragmatic and take the initiative in resolving issues.’

  • ‘The Wilkes team brings a practical, commercial, and effective approach to every deal. Looking to find solutions to problems rather than adding new problems to the mix.'

  • ‘Rick Smyth builds long-term relationships with both clients and fellow advisers. Rick also appears to bring along his more junior team members, helping them to build on their knowledge.’

  • ‘The Wilkes team are great to work with, none of the arrogance and plenty of commercial common sense. They have the depth and breadth of team and experience without that sinking feeling so often associated with the billing engines that are the national names.’

  • ‘They always have both a commercial and practical approach - explain any risks clearly, allowing us to make commercial decisions.’

Key clients

  • Wesleyan Bank Limited
  • Johnsons Cars Limited
  • PPS Equipment Holdings
  • Benx Limited
  • Star Group Live
  • Cotswold BMW
  • Merriott Plastics Group Limited
  • Auxilium Equity Limited
  • VIAD
  • J S Wright
  • STABILA Messgeräte Gustav Ullrich GmbH
  • Huber Car Park Systems International GmbH

Work highlights

Advised long standing clients, Weedon Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries (the Weedon Group) on their £9.25 million sale to Zeus Packaging Investments (UK) Limited, a subsidiary of Zeus Packaging.
Facilitated the shareholders of Summit Systems Limited, a leading provider in the plastics and material handling industry, on their multi-million pound partial sale to Merebeck Limited – an Isle of Man based investment company.
Acted for Johnsons Cars Limited on the sale of their Gloucester Volvo motor dealership to Waylands Automotive Limited.

Practice head

Gareth O’Hara

Other key lawyers

Rick Smyth; Jeremy Parkin; Lucy Freeman; Helen Smart; Kiran Munawar; Matt Hartas