29 LAW FIRM
OF THE YEAR AWARD
SPONSORED BY GRANT THORNTON WINNER OSBORNE CLARKE
Above: Sara Valentine Left: The Osborne Clarke team with Wendy Hart (second from right) and Mark Durden- Smith
Three previous winners of the title of Law Firm of the Year returned to the stage in 2011, but alongside them this time was Osborne Clarke, as judges chose to shortlist four firms instead of three.
The category was sponsored once more by Grant Thornton.
Last year’s winners Shoosmiths had a busy year, with deals including the £35 million buyout of Amtech, the BIMBO of Active Assistance and acquisition of First Call Care Services. It was also involved in the high-profile XLN Telecom sale and the equity investment by LDC in Speed Check Services.
Blake Lapthorn, who won Law Firm of the Year at the Solent Deals Awards in 2009, marked the past 12 months with a wide range of deals, including involvement in the provision of additional funding for Isle of Wight wind turbine specialists Blade Dynamics; a “significant“ MBO deal at Lymington Precision Engineers; and the acquisition of Hampshire-based eFlorist by Swedish company EuroFlorist.
During 2010, the Osborne Clarke team was involved in some of the most talked about deals in the region, including
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – MAY 2011
the MBI of Guralp Systems; the MBO of Kerridge Commercial Systems and the Leasedrive Velo agreement with Investec, which saw Leasedrive being appointed to manage Masterlease UK and integrate it into its existing business. (See Management Team of the Year).
Another previous winner of the award was Pitmans, who walked away with the trophy at the last Thames Valley Deals Awards in 2008. During the past year, Pitmans has completed over 30 transactions with a total deal value of £550m and the deal pipeline will see another £70m of transactions over the coming months.
It too was involved in the Guralp Systems MBI, acting for the management team in what was described as a “complex transaction“.
In addition, Pitmans
succeeded across a range of big-ticket confidential transactions, in sectors ranging from property and retail to IT and telecoms.
One of the loudest cheers of the night so far came when Wendy Hart, corporate finance partner at Grant Thornton, opened the envelope and announced Osborne Clarke as the very popular winner.
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One of Osborne Clarke’s many nominations said the firm had been involved in some of the most significant transactions in the Thames Valley over the past year. Among the differentiators that set it apart were its strength in depth and breadth; the quality of its advice and its sector expertise.
The firm always, said the entry, goes “the extra mile“ for its clients and the number of deals completed in the past year is testament to the commitment and tenacity of the corporate team.
A thrilled Sara Valentine, who leads Osborne Clarke’s Thames Valley corporate team, commented: “We were absolutely delighted to win the award for Law Firm of the Year.
“We have acted on a number of the leading deals in the region over the last year, including the MBI of Guralp Systems and the MBO of Kerridge Commercial Systems, and it is great to see that this has been recognised by the local advisers.“
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