Hot 100: Lucie Cawood, Travers Smith

During the first half of the year, she was promoted to partner at Travers Smith before going on maternity leave shortly afterwards.

Her promotion is a tribute to her skills in the private equity area and a reflection on her strong performance in several complex transactions. Private equity firm Exponent’s acquisition of a portfolio of BBC magazine titles and CPA Global’s sale to European private equity firm Cinven are singled out by Cawood as the two most challenging transactions she has recently completed. In both transactions, Cawood was the lead senior associate, who acted as the focal point for client contact and the main force drafting the deal.

In the BBC deal, the main challenge was obtaining the extraordinarily high level of detail the sellers needed to get the deal through. She successfully overcame all the hurdles by working closely with the client and leading a sizeable, multi-disciplinary team of up to 20 lawyers at one time.

Cawood was faced with a very different set of challenges in the CPA transaction, which had a price tag of £950m, involved operations in 10 countries and had a tight time frame. The Jersey-based client’s diverse shareholders base and global presence required her to effectively co-ordinate more than 10 local firms across different jurisdictions while structuring an unusual and unconventional M&A transaction.

Cawood’s ability to deal with challenges in complex transactions have made her a true rising star in the City’s private equity field.