Military coup for Greenes with 'spy' sale

Edmund's practice Greene & Greene has completed its biggest deal of the year - advising the Vitec Group on the £26.9m sale of its military spy camera business W Vinten to BZW Private Equity.

Partner Chris Thomson said his firm had acted for Vinten Group, which specialises in cameras for the TV industry and the military, since the mid-Seventies, when it was based in the Bury area. Greenes' senior partner David Medcalf was made a director of Vinten Group in 1991.

Last year Greenes advised the group, which is now based near Heathrow, on a £70 million purchase of German broadcasting industry support business Sachtler.

On this deal Medcalf and Thomson worked together with tax partner Suzanne Alston and assistants Kimbra Weston and Neil Walmsley.

Ashurst Morris Crisp acted for BZW with an 18-strong team led by Charlie Geffen. Michael Collins and Peter Crichton, of Alsop Wilkinson, advised the Bank of Scotland who lent BZW the money and Christopher Putt, of Boodle Hatfield, acted for the management of W Vinten.