Lovells has been working on a pro bono project to set up a new centre to provide services for the physically disabled. The firm’s team assisted the Training for Life charity, which helps disadvantaged people into work, to review the tender document for a new facility in Westminster. Due to open in October, the Westminster […]
Clifford Chance has retained its role as lead adviser to a private equity consortium in its $1.9bn (£982.1m) disposal of an oil market supplier to Weil Gotshal & Manges client General Electric (GE). The consortium comprised Candover, 3i and JPMorgan Partners. Houston-headquartered Vetco Gray supplies products and services for onshore and offshore oil and gas […]
Lawrence Graham and Sidley Austin have advised Entertainment Rights on a mandate to take over the US-based owner of cult classics Lassie and The Lone Ranger. The firms advised Entertainment Rights, a UK-based independent media group specialising in the ownership of children’s programmes and characters, including Postman Pat and Basil Brush, on the $305m (£157.65m) […]
Ashurst, Nabarros, Norton Rose, SJ Berwin rush through Bath deal” />Four City real estate practices have played key roles in securing the go-ahead for a £350m redevelopment of Bath’s Southgate area, with complex negotiations completed in less than a month. Ashurst’s, Nabarro Nathanson’s, Norton Rose’s and SJ Berwin’s real estate practices were all involved in […]
Herbert Smith has scooped a role advising new client Essar in its $16bn (£8.27bn) bid for Hutchison Essar. Linklaters is advising regular client Vodafone on its potential bid for India’s fourth-largest mobile operator. Linklaters corporate partner Iain Fenn is leading the team for Vodafone on its highly contested bid for the privately owned business. At […]
Large-scale insolvencies have been largely absent from the UK market over the past few years. That was until the spectacular collapse of hamper savings company Farepak hit the newspaper headlines. While the story tugged at heartstrings when thousands of savers were left empty-handed in the lead-up to the festive season, it has also provided a […]
Scottish firm Anderson Strathern has been reappointed to advise The Crown Estate on its Scottish portfolio on a three-year mandate, after surviving a competitive tender review. The Scottish portfolio includes the seabed around the Scottish coastline and much of the foreshore, rural estates throughout Scotland, including Glenlivet in Moray and Applegirth in Dumfries, and commercial […]
Blackstone Chambers is to launch the first legal action against the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the Attorney General and Prime Minister Tony Blair over the decision to drop an investigation into BAE Systems’ involvement with a Saudi Arabian defence contract. As first reported on www.thelawyer.com (18 December), a heavyweight team from Blackstone, which includes Dinah […]
Allen & Overy (A&O) is targeting London-calibre transactions for its Middle East office as the firm looks to improve the quality of work in an effort to lure more associates to the region. The firm has completed two Russian acquisitions for a subsidiary of Italy-based banking group UniCredito in the past month, with the transactions […]
Norton Rose has secured a third mammoth deal in four months for Star Capital Partners, cementing the firm’s relationship with the investment fund management group. The firm is advising Star and co-investors HBOS and AMP Capital Investors on the £927m sale of Secondary Market Infrastructure Fund (SMIF) to Land Securities Trillium. The deal is expected […]
Salans has scooped the lead role advising turnaround expert RCapital on the rescue of struggling UK roadside restaurant chain Little Chef. Private equity house RCapital brokered a last-minute deal on Wednesday 3 January to acquire 194 of Little Chef’s restaurants from People’s Restaurant Group for an estimated £10m. The deal followed shortly after PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) […]
Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher scored lead roles on Bahraini investment bank Investcorp’s £157m acquisition of oil services group Moody International. BLP advised private equity client Close Brothers on its sale of Moody to Investcorp just two years after it acquired the group in 2004. BLP also advised on the original […]