2 May 2011

Breaking China

China has set up a number of obstacles to hinder investment into and out of its growing economy. By Guy Coltman Things are changing in the ­People’s Republic of China – not quickly and, arguably, not as much as many investors might like, but they are ­changing, and the vast country is tipped to become […]

Nicky Bizzell

Nicky Bizzell, Eversheds

I like my colleagues a lot. But I’m not sure I’d want to see them at the ­weekend. Name:  Nicky Bizzell Firm: Eversheds Position: Resourcing ­manager Lives: Benfleet, Essex I usually get to work at 8.30am. Give or take an hour. I’ve twice fallen in love at work. Sadly neither time was career enhancing. A colleague […]

Tulkinghorn: Sweet meets

News reaches Tulkinghorn from Hogan Lovells Towers that the firm’s always innovative PR and marketing team has devised a new method of enticing partners into their office to talk. “We offer them sweets and cakes,” says one chocolate-covered comms monkey while taking a brief pause from cramming in Green & Black’s. Colostrum rostrum These days […]

Savings grace: Liz Kelly, Nationwide Building Society

Nationwide GC Liz Kelly has created the building society’s legal team from scratch to cope with a host of regulatory challenges in markedly altered business environment. The financial services industry is in the middle of a shake-up, with new regulatory requirements ­keeping in-house lawyers on their toes. Internally at the Nationwide Building Society the past […]

Jon Vivian

Work Life Quiz: Jon Vivian, Irwin Mitchell

Where’s the best place to go to find out what’s really going on in the office? Our local pub The ­Boardroom. What was your first-ever job? Working for a month in a sawmill – extremely hard and dusty work. What was your worst ­experience as a trainee? Accepting a town cheque on a completion instead […]

Isabel Davies

On the move

Reading-based Boyes Turner has boosted its commercial and technology group with the hire of CMS Cameron McKenna partner Isabel Davies. Move of the week She will work alongside IP head Sarah Hadland. At Camerons Davies was chair of the TMT group. She advises on ­contentious and ­transactional issues and her client base ­covers IT, media […]

Ashurst, SNR Denton land Centrica-Qatargas deal

Ashurst and SNR Denton have advised on a £2bn tie-up between British Gas parent company Centrica Energy and Qatargas. The sale-and-purchase agreement will see the Qatari state-run gas supplier sell 2.4 million tonnes per year of liquified natural gas (LNG) from its Qatargas 4 project to ­Centrica’s Isle of Grain ­terminal near London. The first delivery […]

CC, Freshfields picked for Metrovacesa restructure

Clifford Chance and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have landed roles on Spanish real estate group Metrovacesa’s e5bn (£4.4bn) restructuring. Freshfields advised Metrovacesa on its scheme of arrangement for a e3.25bn syndicated credit agreement governed by English law. Spain managing partner Iñaki Gabilondo led the firm’s Madrid team, with restructuring partner Richard Tett and senior finance associate Geoff O’Dea […]

Chrysler turns to Sullivan as Fiat puts auto giants on road to full integration

Sullivan & Cromwell has represented Chrysler Group on a $1.27bn (£77m) ­purchase by Italian car maker Fiat of an additional 16 per cent stake in the US car giant. The firm’s New York-based corporate team worked on the deal, which was announced on 21 April. Key players included corporate partner Scott Miller, partner Marc Trevino and special counsel Michael Katz, who advised on […]

CC, Hogan Lovells, Travers act on Barclays’ acquisition of The Mill

Clifford Chance, Hogan Lovells and Travers Smith secured the top mandates on Barclays Private Equity’s (BPE) £119m acquisition of post-production business The Mill. Global private equity head David Walker led the ­Clifford Chance team acting for ­longstanding client BPE alongside banking and finance partner James ­Butters. Travers Smith acted for seller The Carlyle Group, fielding a team […]

2

Global partner promotions plummet

The number of international partners made up by UK firms in 2011 has dipped, despite this being the first round of promotions since last year’s spate of transatlantic mergers. In 2011, across the 19 firms surveyed, 165 out of the 279 partner promotions made were in foreign offices. Hogan Lovells led the way with 80.6 […]

Rock solid

A competitive rate of corporate tax and an investment manager-friendly environment is keeping Gibraltar at the cutting edge of EU jurisdictions. Joey Garcia highlights the benefits  Gibraltar’s recently introduced Income Tax Act 2010 marks a definitive step ­forward for the jurisdiction, not just in terms of the new legislative tax framework and reduction of […]