DJ Freeman’s new head of corporate Richard Spiller doesn’t know why he landed the role, but Kathryn Hobbs is sure he is the right man for the job It may be Jubilee year, but forget about that lady from Windsor – 2002 marks the 50th anniversary of DJ Freeman. Head of corporate Richard Spiller has […]
Former alliance partner Elliot Duffy gets cold shoulder as L’Estrange is chosen to advise the banks A&L Goodbody has put its relationship with former Northern Irish alliance member Elliot Duffy Garrett firmly behind it by bringing in rival firm L’Estrange & Brett to advise the banks on Musgrave Investment’s high-profile bid for UK supermarket chain […]
Summer is finally here, bringing Wimbledon, ice-creams and unsightly upper arms to the fore. For law firms it also signals the start of the professional indemnity (PI) renewal season. Firms have until the end of August to sort out their PI arrangements, so how does the land lie this year?The PI open market has been […]
DJ Freeman (Jonathan Lewis) advised Benchmark Group on the acquisition of the freehold interest in Trevelyan House, 30 Great Peter Street, London, for £29.6m from KP Fund. Penningtons (Roger Loveland) advised KP Fund. Boodle Hatfield (Tim Manning) advised Grosvenor on its joint venture with JER to redevelop Belgrave House in Victoria, with an end value […]
Is this the first chambers partnership in disguise? St Philips is now indisputably the largest set of chambers in the country, with every one of the tenants investing a minimum of £10,000 in the ‘business’. It has committed itself both to professional management under a chief executive officer (who now commands a staff of 35) […]
A management reshuffle has given Robert Muckle a new lease of life At the beginning of April 2002, following an uncontested vote, Ian Gilthorpe, the former managing partner of Newcastle-based Robert Muckle and senior partner Hugh Welch swapped roles (The Lawyer, 18 March). Gilthorpe, now senior partner, has also become business development partner, a responsibility […]
Pizza Express company secretary Patrick Hartrey is presiding over the largest expansion that the restaurant chain has ever undertaken. Emma Vere-Jones touches base Patrick Hartrey, company secretary at Pizza Express, is looking rather flustered when he arrives at the Aldwych branch. Day trips to London from the head office in Uxbridge are apparently a whirlwind […]
Halliwell Landau has set up a consultancy arm, which it is considering floating on the stock market “very quickly”. The consultancy service will provide companies with advice on executive compensation schemes. The firm plans to cross-sell its services to clients of the law firm and the new consultancy business and does not anticipate that this […]
Pinsent Curtis Biddle (Alan Greenough, Marina Fariba) has advised Ascent Technology on its £12.5m management buyout from Lynx Group. 3i provided equity and was advised by Wragge & Co. Debt provider Royal Bank of Scotland advised by Eversheds. DLA acted for Lynx Group. Weil Gotshal & Manges (Paul Claydon, Corey Chivers) advised Yell Group on […]
Shearman & Sterling has hired Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer financial services senior associate Barney Reynolds as counsel. With the addition of Reynolds to its English law capability, Shearman has gained another ancillary service to support its core corporate and M&A practices. UK M&A partner Adrian Knight said: “We anticipate significant M&A activity as the financial sector […]
Lawyers to the Kingsway Partnership have finally advised on the signing of an £80m development agreement for the controversial Kingsway Business Park at Rochdale, but face continued opposition from landowners, including rival developer Deanbank Investments.The Kingsway Partnership includes housebuilder and developer Wilson Bowden, advised by Pinsent Curtis Biddle, the North West Regional Development Agency (NWDA), […]
KLegal is making a multidisciplinary push for mid-market private equity. The firm has set up a joint team with KPMG that will target private equity houses for acquisitions and non-transactional work.The team is headed by KPMG partner Oliver Tant and includes KLegal partner Moray Macpherson. The bulk of the team comes from KPMG’s transaction services, […]