41 LAW FIRM


OF THE YEAR AWARD


SPONSORED BY GRANT THORNTON WINNER Manches


Above: Rob Hayes of Manches


Left: The winning Manches team with Wendy Hart (right) of sponsor Grant Thornton


Four names made it to the shortlist for the title of 2013 Law Firm of the Year – Pitmans, Osborne Clarke, Shoosmiths and Manches.


Sponsored by Grant Thornton, the hotly- contested category demonstrated the depth of experience and wealth of talented legal advisers in the region.


Also shortlisted for Lawyer of the Year, David Tighe heads up the Thames Valley corporate team for Manches, with offices in both Oxford and Reading. Since the Reading office relocated to new premises in Apex Plaza in January 2013, demonstrating its ongoing commitment to the region, the team has continued to grow and now has 15 fee earners.


Manches can boast a busy year, completing 80 corporate deals in the past 12 months – 30 M&As, 30 VC deals and 20 funding deals, many of which were described as “complicated and intensive in nature”.


Recent activity has included working with Oxford University Press in its acquisitions of Nelson Thornes and My Maths; the listing of Williams F1 on the Frankfurt Stockmarket; and acting for the shareholders on the MBO of Tessella, one of the big deal winners of the night.


Described as the natural “go to” firm in the Thames Valley for support in M&A and private equity transactions, Osborne Clarke was praised in one nomination for its “wealth of experience, extensive range of disciplines and


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MAY 2013


strong pool of talented professionals, who ensure a quality and efficient service”.


Among its clients are LDC, Daler-Rowney from Bracknell, Kerridge Commercial Systems and LeasedriveVelo; while Osborne Clarke has also acted for Business Growth Fund on a number of its growth capital investments, as well as for RBS and HSBC.


Boasting deals with an aggregate value of £250 million over the past 12 months, Pitmans has enjoyed a successful year, with MBOs, disposals, investments and much more.


Highly-ranked by CorpFin for its volume of deals in the region and consistently gaining tier one ratings in The Legal 500 and Chambers, the firm continues to go from strength to strength, delivering new client wins across regional, national and international businesses. Clients include Westcoast, Ascot Racecourse, Softcat, Ridgeway, Prologic, Lab 21 and many more.


With Emma Gibson having already won Lawyer of the Year for the second year in a row, the pressure was on for the overall Shoosmiths team to repeat last year’s success in this category.


The firm had a very strong year, advising on deals which included Bullitt Group, Coolgas and Cennox.


One nomination commended Shoosmiths for its “outstanding year of transactions” and said the team’s expertise and ability to offer a


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full legal service to clients adds real strength to the local business community. The team was described as “a high-quality group of trusted advisers who have been operating at a consistently high level for many years”.


With everyone keen to find out the results, Wendy Hart, partner at Grant Thornton was invited to the stage and announced Manches as the winner.


David Tighe commented: “This is a great endorsement of the work, reputation and quality of our lawyers in the Thames Valley offices. We have worked on some of the most high-profile transactions in the region, which include mainstream M&A, midmarket private equity backed buyouts and venture capital based transactions. Our team of 10 Thames Valley based corporate lawyers provides us with the resource and technical ability to handle some of the region’s most complex and challenging transactions.


“As this coincides perfectly with our move into state-of-the-art premises in Apex Plaza, we will use this win to continue to raise our profile in the region. The new office move is part of our strategy for the continued expansion of our practice over the next few years.”


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