Wragges wins Heinz and M&C Saatchi JV

Under the agreement, Saatchinvest, a new investment company established by Saatchi, will own 51 per cent of the Complan and Casilan brands. HJ Heinz will own 34 per cent and the Complan/Casilan management 15 per cent.
The Saatchinvest deal is Wragges' second completed corporate acquisition for HJ Heinz since being appointed to the panel in 1999 and advising on the £190m acquisition of UB Frozen and Chilled Foods from United Biscuits. Wragges advises Heinz on a range of work, including intellectual property (IP), competition, pensions and commercial contracts.
Corporate partners Lorna Gavin and Kevin Jones led the legal team at Wragges with lawyer Kam Pawar on corporate, partner Chris Brierley and lawyer Lynn Thomas on banking, partner Patrick Duxbury and associate Declan Cushley on IP and partner Kevin Poole and associate Nigel Smith on tax. The team worked closely with Dan Vogus, European general counsel for all of HJ Heinz's operations in Europe.
Wragges recently announced a 10 per cent drop in profits per partner to £245,000, with turnover edging up by just under 2 per cent to £78m.
Craig Thompson at Olswang advised Saatchinvest, while Niamh Quinn of Addleshaw Booth & Co advised Barclays.