How our Private Equity Lawyers can help you

PE to the core.

Our market-leading private equity lawyers are dedicated to advising investors, management teams and investee companies on all types of PE transactions across the UK and internationally.

We are immersed in the PE universe and PE to the core.

We have extensive experience of advising on all forms of private equity transactions, including investments, take privates, secondary sales, bolt-on acquisitions and exits, using our up-to-date knowledge of market practice.

Private equity transactions bring with them many challenges and competing dynamics – we ensure that we fully understand what is important to clients and that we are there for you at each step along the way.

Key Contacts

Extensive sector experience.

Our clients transact across a wide range of industry sectors and a knowledge of how these businesses operate and the issues they face is key to providing relevant advice.

We have experience advising on a wide range of private equity deals across all sectors important to the economy, with particular expertise in Business Services, Consumer Services, Technology, Financial Services, Energy and Hospitality, Retail & Leisure.

Investment and Exits

We act for a wide range of PE investors and are proud of the long standing relationships we build with our clients. Successful PE transactions are driven by relationships, in addition to the “commercials” and our emphasis on a human and high performing culture perfectly mirrors this dynamic.

Each transaction is unique and our extensive experience combined with sector experience ensures we on hand to support PE investors whatever the transaction, from initial investments, secondary buyouts, co investments through to exits and listings. Our team prides itself on developing innovative solutions to achieve client objectives and has been at the forefront of many new transaction categories such as “take private lite” and “loan to own” transactions.

Examples of Investment and Exit experience include advising:

• Bluegem on the £300m sale of its stake in the iconic Liberty London
• Kester Capital on their acquisition of Optibrium Limited, a drug discovery software provider to the pharmaceutical and biotech industrie
• Maven on its investment (alongside the Scottish Investment Bank) in Quorum Cyber Security Limited

Investee Company M&A

We are ideally placed to help with investee company acquisitions. We have a full understanding of the dynamics at play in these transactions, including with reference to ongoing management participation, crafting appropriate earn-out structures, and the requirements of investors and lenders.

Examples of investee company acquisition experience includes advising:

• A-Plan Insurance (an Hg investee company) on its acquisitions of Endsleigh Insurance, Cotters Insurance Services and telematics insurance brand Ingenie
• Sovos Compliance LLC (an Hg investee company) on its acquisitions of FiscalReps and Accordance
• Marley (an Inflexion investee company) on its acquisition of Viridian Solar

Tax

Our tax team works seamlessly with our PE lawyers to deliver corporate tax advice on M&A transactions, restructurings and PE investments. We bring a commercial approach to a highly technical area, offering sensible solutions to achieve tax efficient results.

Together, we provide specialist advice and deep market knowledge of tax efficient investment and acquisition structures, management equity incentivisation, employee incentives and share schemes.

Management Advice

We have extensive experience advising management teams on all forms of private equity transactions, including MBOs, secondary sales and exits. Our role is to achieve the best outcome for management in the context of the dynamics of the deal and in a manner which doesn’t prejudice management’s future relationship with its PE sponsor. Management teams are required to balance many competing interests during a transaction which requires measured, experienced and [commercial] legal advice.

With an up-to-date knowledge of market practice, particularly in relation to future equity and compensation arrangements, we ensure management’s position is protected and maximised. We work closely with our experienced tax team who provide expert structuring advice so as to optimise management’s tax position, taking account of, for example, employment related securities and entrepreneur’s relief considerations.

Examples of management team engagements include advising:

• management shareholders on the sale of Total Mobile, the UK’s leading Field Service Management software provider, to Bowmark
• management shareholders of The Foundry on the sale of the company by Hg to Roper Technologies for £400m
• management on the sale of Victoria Plum and MFI by TPG and management to Endless

Funds

Our funds lawyers advise leading international fund managers, investors, banks and law firms in connection with: Fund structuring, formation, raising and operation; Investments in private funds; Scottish limited partnerships in private funds and other structures; and carry limited partnerships.

We were at the forefront of the development of the use of Scottish limited partnerships in private fund structures and were involved in the first ever use of an SLP as a carry vehicle, over 20 years ago. This is our core business – we do it every day and invest heavily to make sure we remain at the cutting edge.

Banking & Finance

Our PE team includes finance lawyers expert in both acquisition leveraged finance and funds finance. This unique proposition ensures we are at the forefront of developments and market changes in PE financing.

Our finance team is expert in a wide range of sectors and asset classes important to financial investors, including real estate finance, infrastructure project finance, renewables finance, oil & gas finance and securitisation/receivables finance.

Total Mobile

Management shareholders on the sale of Total Mobile, the UK’s leading Field Service Management (FSM) software provider, to Bowmark.

BlueGem Capital Partners

BlueGem Capital Partners on acquisitions including Sirdar, Big Fernand, Lateral, Dr Vranjes and QMS Medicosmetics.

Energetics

Management shareholders of Energetics on the sale of the company by Macquarie to Infracap.

Victoria Plum and MFI

Management on the sale of Victoria Plum and MFI by TPG and management to Endless.

Sovos Compliance LLC

Sovos Compliance LLC (an Hg investee company) on its acquisitions of FiscalReps and Accordance.

Circularity Capital

Circularity Capital on its investment in Green Home Group, a market leader in the installation of energy efficiency measures to domestic properties.

Aberdeen Standard Investments 

Aberdeen Standard Investments in a co-investment - alongside BlackRock and Nordic Capital - of €12.5m into Trustly, a Swedish-based, global online payments provider.

Hubsolv Limited

Shareholders of Hubsolv Limited, a provider of case management and CRM software to the insolvency industry, on the sale of the company to Aryza (backed by Pollen Street Capital).

Kester Capital LLP

Kester Capital LLP on an MBO of Shopping @ Home, the holding company of the You Garden business.

Work Highlights

Maven

Maven on its investment (alongside the Scottish Investment Bank) in Quorum Cyber Security Limited.

The Foundry

Management shareholders of the Foundry on the sale of the company by Hg to Roper Technologies for £400m.

Liberty of London

BlueGem on the £300m sale of its stake in the iconic Liberty of London.

Aberdeen Standard Investments 

Aberdeen Standard Investments on its acquisition and disposal of interests in a number of private equity and venture fund interests.

Axios Systems plc

In relation to the sale of Axios Systems plc, one of Scotland’s leading software companies, to IFS, a Swedish based global tech company owned by private equity (EQT and TA Associates).

Learning Curve Group 

Management on the sale of and reinvestment into the Learning Curve Group alongside Agilitas Private Equity.

Horizon Capital

Management shareholders on the sale of Horizon Capital investee company Connexas Group, a leading provider of connected vehicle technology and fleet management solutions, to AddSecure.

Hg

Hg on the acquisition of the Evaluate Group and subsequent reinvestment by management team members.

Lone Pine Capital

Lone Pine Capital on its acquisition of share capital in TransferWise.

Magnesium Capital

Magnesium Capital on its acquisition of Cyberhawk Innovations.

A-Plan Insurance

A-Plan Insurance (an Hg investee company) on its acquisitions of Endsleigh Insurance, Cotters Insurance Services and telematics insurance brand Ingenie.

Kinapse

Shareholders of Kinapse, a life sciences advisory business, on the sale of the business by Hg and management to Syneos Health.

Kings Park Capital

Kings Park Capital on investments in 7Bone B Burger Co., JOA Casinos and JG Travel Group.

Kester Capital

Kester Capital on their acquisition of Optibrium Limited, a drug discovery software provider to the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Lonsdale Capital Partners LLP

Lonsdale Capital Partners LLP in the sale of Bright Maze Oy, the Finnish parent company of the Amerplast packaging group.

Maven

Maven on its further investment into Horizon Cremation Limited.

PV Solar Investments Limited 

Shareholders of PV Solar Investments Limited on the sale of the company to a Canadian specialist infrastructure private equity firm.

Maven

Maven on its acquisition of CMS Enviro Systems, who deal in the supply and installation of windows and doors.

Murgitroyd Group

Shareholders of Murgitroyd Group plc on the take private of the company by Sovereign Capital Partners.

Marley

Marley (an Inflexion investee company) on its acquisition of Viridian Solar.

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