Pitmans: ‘Exceptionally good on acquisitions‘
Corporate and commercial
Pitmans‘ ‘knowledgeable, well- connected and prompt‘ team acted for Cohort and its subsidiary SEA on its purchase of J+S, and advised The East India Company on investments made by Lulu Group. Group head Andrew Peddie is ‘exceptionally good on acquisition projects‘, and private equity, venture capital and M&A specialist Roger Gregory is the other key figure. Notable clients include Ridgeway Group, CACI and Lab 21.
In Hampshire, Pitmans‘ legacy Lamport Bassitt team is led by the highly-regarded Sean Kelly, who has a longstanding local reputation. In a typically prolific year, Kelly advised The Impact Group on its £7 million sale to Tower Transit, and Meercat Workboats on its £2m sale to Burgess Marine.
Commercial litigation
Pitmans‘ wide-ranging practice handled a number of commercial contract and shareholder disputes, and has expertise in the real estate, IT and insolvency sectors. IT-focused Tim Clark ‘combines technical skills with practicality‘, and Suzanne Brooker specialises in contentious insolvency matters. Practice head Sue O‘Brien advised Prodded Networks on an unpaid invoices claim against GDF Suez, and acted for One Step (Support) in a restrictive covenant claim.
In Hampshire, highlights included representing a company in its high-
value breach of duty claim against former senior employees and for rectification of the share register. Rick Munro led this matter, and heads the team.
Debt recovery
Pitmans houses a ‘very efficient and effective‘ team. Suzanne Brooker and Donna Goddard are the names to note.
Banking and finance
The firm ‘creates superb business relationships with its clients‘. Team head Patrick Long ‘present solutions, not issues‘; Stephanie Perry ‘can handle diverging matters within short deadlines‘; and real estate finance specialist Sarah Potter is ‘professional and efficient‘. The firm advised Metro Bank and Clydesdale Bank on the provision of substantial facilities.
Insolvency and corporate recovery
Clients include KPMG, Deloitte and Grant Thornton UK. Practice head Suzanne Brooker is ‘a joy to work with‘ and her legal knowledge is ‘second to none‘. Her team is recommended for its ‘large and varied industry experience‘.
Employment
Pitmans has ‘a strong knowledge of key employment issues‘, and practice co-heads Mark Symons, Richard Devall and Angela Shields ‘take a pragmatic approach, identify risks and deliver
appropriate advice‘. The team handled the employment aspects of Annodata‘s acquisition of Keltec.
In Hampshire, the ‘excellent on all levels‘ team is led by Jonathan Gray.
Immigration
Richard Devall is the key figure, was highly active in business immigration from Egypt, as well as assisting the UK subsidiaries of Chinese and Russian-owned companies on the transfer of business-vital employees.
Pensions
David Hosford advises on all aspects of non-contentious pensions law including s.75 debt matters, scheme mergers and compliance. Symon Rowley focuses on pension scheme documentation.
Personal injury: claimant
‘A very safe pair of hands‘, LB Claims is now part of Pitmans, following the firms‘ merger in 2014. Gareth Wheeler leads the team, which includes Lynn Yeates (‘great with clients‘) and Peter Hilditch (‘really knows his stuff‘).
Personal injury: defendant
The ‘excellent‘ team has ‘thorough understanding of clients‘ business requirements, and keeps them fully informed of developments‘. Ferhat Choudri and Alan Davies are ‘approachable‘ lawyers.
Coffin Mew: ‘Longstanding experience‘ Corporate and commercial
Coffin Mew LLP‘s team includes the longstanding experience of Nick Gross and Amanda Brockwell, and the impressive cross-border expertise of Richard Swain. Brockwell and Swain advised the management team with the MBO of Landgard from its German owners.
Commercial litigation
Coffin Mew mitigated the departures of Steven Wood and
Catherine Fisher with the hires of James Russell, who now heads the team, and associate Mike Ellis from Wilsons. Clients include Baker Tilly and Imperial Car Supermarkets.
Insolvency and corporate recovery
Coffin Mew is recognised for corporate and personal, contentious and non-contentious, and business recovery matters. Jonathan Lupton and Malcolm Niekirk are recommended.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – OCTOBER 2015 Employment
Dorlee Mounschau‘s team mitigated the departure of Darren Tibble with the hires of Holly Cudbill and Amy Richardson, adding to the associate- level experience of Tabytha Cunningham.
Clinical negligence: claimant
The lawyers at Coffin Mew ‘work extremely hard‘. Sue Bowler and associate Douglas Miller ‘have
law – the legal 500 35 Commercial property
Pitmans covers the full range of commercial property matters, with particular strength in residential development, acting for clients including Millgate and Abingworth Developments, Cala Management and Ashill Land. Andrew Davies heads the practice, and Delphine Mehouas is the other key contact.
In Hampshire, Pitmans‘ team is led by the ‘concise and knowledgeable‘ John Newton, with Nick Todd, who has impressive experience in major development projects, the other key contact.
Construction
The experienced David Gwillim, who has niche marine engineering expertise, has developed a robust construction capability since arriving from Speechly Bircham in 2013. Clients include Oxford Homes and Nordic Construction.
Planning
Pitmans successfully defended judicial review proceedings against client Bewley Homes to block planning permission for a major mixed-use development in Surrey. The recommended Christina Daniels led that matter, and heads the team.
IT and telecoms
Tim Clark acted for XMA in a £1m claim related to a sub- contract termination, and advised Westcoast Group on various IT-related matters. Phil Smith handles software and licensing disputes, and Sarah Lake has strong expertise in commercial contracts.
good connections with medical experts and give robust advice‘.
Family
Sally Pike leads Coffin Mew‘s team, which has specialist armed forces family law expertise through Chris Upfield.
Commercial property
Nick Leavey heads the team, which includes the ‘excellent‘ Peter Fellows and ‘practical and tailored‘ associate Amanda Read. Clients include Crayfern Homes and Santander.
www.businessmag.co.uk
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