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More than just a bright orange logo ...
With its bright orange logo and two offices right in the centre of Southampton, Moore Blatch has a knack of standing out from the crowd, but that’s not the only way that one of the south’s leading commercial law firms is getting itself noticed
In this interview, Jeremy Over, a partner in the corporate team at Moore Blatch, tells us about some of the deals the team has undertaken, the opening of an office in the City and its plans for expansion.
Tell us about some of the recent deals the team has worked on
Our team continues to secure a wide range of high-calibre and complex transactions as the economy continues its progress out of recession. Some recent highlights include:
• The sale of Wunelli to LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Wunelli works with insurers by collecting and storing telematics data to help insurers better understand their customers’ driving behaviour. This deal required a lot of focus and hard work from the team to ensure it completed within a very tight timeframe.
• The sale of Bytes Document Solutions (BDS) by Bytes Technology Group (BTG) to Xeretec. BDS, a Xerox reseller, was sold to Xeretec which will see Xeretec as Xerox’s largest reseller in Western Europe.
• The sale of Axell Wireless to Cobham plc for up to £85 million. While we are equally adept at handling much smaller transactions, the size of this deal shows that we have the critical mass to take on large projects as well.
What are your plans for the future?
We have an ongoing expansion plan and the increasing number and complexity of deals being handled reinforces the value of the firm’s long-term ambitions. The Axell deal is an example of the size and complexity of deals being handled by Moore Blatch.
We have expanded our offering in the past year, including the recruitment of a number of senior experienced corporate lawyers and the opening of a new office in the City. With a City base and a large experienced team we believe we have a genuine advantage over many regional law firms.
The firm has a growing number of long-term clients and although the corporate team does handle one-off transactions, our main focus is working with clients who want to build a relationship that works for both parties in the long term. The Axell and the Bytes deals are great examples of this.
www.businessmag.co.uk What are you currently working on?
We have a strong looking pipeline for the months ahead. I am helping a number of high-net-worth individuals in making EIS qualifying investments into private companies, which are generally early-stage companies with a lot of growth potential. We have also completed two fundraisings for corporate clients this year, raising well over £1m in the process to help them grow and build their businesses. One of these companies is a technology company and another is in hospitality.
We have an ongoing expansion plan and the increasing number and complexity of deals being handled reinforces the value of the firm’s long-term ambitions
We have a number of clients in various sectors who are actively seeking out acquisition opportunities. At the time of writing, we have a couple of AIM floats on the go as well as a number of sale mandates.
JEREMY OVER:
• Is a partner in the corporate team, based in the Southampton office at 11 The Avenue
• Specialisms include mergers, acquisitions and disposals, private-company fundraisings, public-company flotations and fundraisings, shareholders’ agreements and general company law matters
• Works with clients across a wide range of sectors, including: IT, financial services, telecommunications, media, healthcare and hospitality
• Is married to Sophie and has a nine- month-old daughter called Rosie.
Details: Jeremy Over 023-8071-8025
jeremy.over@mooreblatch.com www.mooreblatch.com
Why did you decide to be a corporate lawyer and why did you choose Moore Blatch?
Being a corporate lawyer is a very varied existence; each day provides a new conundrum to get the grey matter going. Our clients want solutions not problems and they don’t want to be told they can’t do something. Therefore there is nothing more satisfying than thinking around a problem and finding a commercial solution built on common sense that works for your client.
Our clients want solutions not problems and they don’t want to be told they can’t do something
At Moore Blatch, we really take pride in what we do and have a relentless passion for helping our clients achieve their objectives in a way that balances the protection of their interests with the commercial reality of getting the deal done. We always focus on the bigger picture because that’s what our clients want.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – SEPTEMBER 2014
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