Burges Salmon drives car company to AIM

Bristol & London, the luxury car replacement business, used by the likes of pop songstress Dido and Portsmouth FC manager Harry Redknapp, has plumped for Burges Salmon to head up its £31.5m AIM flotation.

The client is a new win for Burges Salmon after previously working for Bristol & London founder Richard Abel when the firm acted for Burns-Anderson on a fundraising.

Abel was practising as a financial adviser under the Burns-Anderson umbrella at the time.

The car company, which specialises in supplying replacement vehicles to drivers of prestige cars when they are not at fault in an accident, almost braved the equity capital markets two years ago.

However, it had to pull out as insurers in two test cases challenged the principle that hire car costs should be recovered from the insurer of the faulty party.

Bristol & London used Irwin Mitchell on the aborted float.

Partner Chris Godfrey led the Burges Salmon team, while Osborne Clarke partner Patrick Graves advised the nominated adviser and broker Rowan Dartington & Co.