SJ Berwin has helped PD Ports secure planning permission for the Northern Gateway, a £300m deep-sea container terminal in Teesport, North East England. The firm bagged the instruction, its first for the Babcock & Brown Infrastructure subsidiary, in 2005 after the original adviser was conflicted out. The firm was responsible for the landside operations of […]
Stephenson Harwood has landed a lead role advising on a significant UK investment by an Indian company. Corporate partner Pawan Sharma advised bicycle company Hero Group on its £40m acquisition of UK call centre company Telecom Service Company (TSC). Sharma said: “After Tata’s acquisition of Corus, this is the most significant piece of investment outside […]
Olswang has acted for longstanding client BDO Stoy Hayward on its acquisition of Chiltern Public Limited Company’s tax advisory and consultancy business. Corporate partner Tony Leifer led the deal, assisted by corporate associate Andrew Stott. Chiltern is the largest independent tax advisory firm in the UK and provides specialist tax services to smaller accountants and […]
SJ Berwin has established Scandinavian funds for Industri Kapital and Segulah, with values of £1.16bn and £375m respectively. Industri Kapital’s previous fund was set up by Clifford Chance in 2002. SJ Berwin funds partner Nigel van Zyl said the firm was instructed on account of its “profile and position” in the funds market and was […]
It’s time for the FSA to toughen its stance on insider dealing, say Richard Lissack and Farhaz Khan The perception held by some in the 1970s that insider dealing was nothing more than ‘being something in the City’ appears astonishing in today’s terms. Indeed, even in the 1970s when insider dealing was not yet a […]
The failure of many EU states to implement Mifid hasn’t stopped the European Commission from trying to push through the new regulations, says David Heard The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid) has been described as one of the most significant changes in the EU financial services regulatory environment. It is already clear, however, that […]
Section 75 debts are proving a hard nut to crack for the Department of Work and Pensions. Chris Close reports Almost all defined benefit (or final salary) pension schemes are subject to Section 75 of the Pensions Act 1995. This legislation (supplemented by regulations) provides that when a pension scheme winds up, the scheme’s employers […]
Germany’s Act on Equal Treatment brings discrimination laws under one blanket, but it will potentially increase the burden for companies, warns Michael Leue On 29 June 2006, the German Federal Parliament passed the much-debated Act on Equal Treatment (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz (AGG)). The AGG, which came into force on 18 August 2006 and was subsequently amended […]
Irish corporate firm Matheson Ormsby Prentice has worked alongside the UK’s Wragge & Co to establish a single electricity market for Ireland. Matheson acted for the Commission for Energy Regulation and the Northern Ireland Authority for Utility Regulation in relation to the legislation, licensing and transition aspects of the single electricity market. The team was […]
Brodies has beefed up its technology and information group with the addition of former Addleshaw Goddard partner Andrew Rigby. Technology and business process outsourcing (BPO) expert Rigby, who left Addleshaws’ London in the spring, has joined Brodies’ Edinburgh office as a partner. His appointment takes the firm’s partner headcount to 55. According to Rigby he […]
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has snared Weil Gotshal & Manges’ head of restructuring to head up its European restructuring practice. Chris Mallon, currently head of the business finance and restructuring group at Weil, announced his departure from the firm today. His experience includes advising on a number of key restructurings including Enron, Global […]
Heather Mills has parted company with her divorce lawyer, Anthony Julius of Mishcon de Reya, a week after being dropped by her media spokesman Phil Hall. Mills is in the throes of a divorce from former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney. Litigation specialist Julius is known for representing high profile figures in divorce cases, having represented […]