the legal 500
‘Responsive, commercially savvy’ Corporate & commercial
Pitmans LLP advised on numerous acquisitions and disposals throughout 2015, and has notable strength in the banking, automotive and technology sectors. Andrew Peddie has strong expertise in joint ventures, equity fundraisings and reorganisations, alongside transactional M&A, and Roger Gregory has significant cross-border experience for clients across Europe and the US. Highlights included acting for the sellers of ITP Group and its subsidiaries. Other clients include Starflight Aviation, Ridgeway Group and New York Bakery Company.
In Hampshire, Pitmans undertook several high-value transactions and acquisitions in 2015, with head Sean Kelly and Oliver Kelly playing central roles in many of these deals. Clients include Red Funnel Group Ferries, Altitude Partners LLP and Panoramic Growth Equity.
Licensing
Jonathan Gray leads the team, which acts for clients including Ideal Collection, Delicious Dining and the Natural Environment Research Council.
Commercial litigation
Highlights for the ‘responsive, commercially savvy and client-friendly’ group included acting for XMA in High Court proceedings brought by InTechnology totalling £1.2 million. Tim Clark heads the practice, which includes insolvency practitioner Suzanne Brooker, ‘responsive, flexible strategic thinker’ Phil Smith, and Sue O’Brien, who has notable cross-border experience. Other clients include Thames Water, Westcoast and Toshiba.
In Hampshire, Pitmans acted for JDI Dating in a contractual dispute with a customer service outsourcing company. Other clients include HCR Group and Cranbourne Holdings. Practice head Rick Munro and director Sylvia Yendall are recommended.
Debt recovery
Suzanne Brooker heads the ‘approachable’ and ‘responsive’ group at the firm, which acts for commercial and corporate entities as well as regulatory and public bodies.
Banking & finance
The ‘excellent’ team provides ‘exemplary and trusted’ advice and has a ‘wide skillset’, including a developing Islamic finance capability which saw the firm’s appointment to the legal panel of Habib Bank AG Zurich. Department head Patrick Long is ‘very responsive’ and ‘appropriately supported by a suitably qualified and knowledgeable team’, which includes Stephanie Perry and director Mark Metcalfe. Other clients include Santander and Handelsbanken.
Insolvency & corporate recovery
Suzanne Brooker leads the team of ‘consummate lawyers, who have a remarkable depth of knowledge and experience’. Brooker ‘brings an encyclopaedic knowledge and commercial acumen to the table’. Clients include KPMG, Wilkins Kennedy and Quantuma.
Employment
Pitmans provides ‘high-quality’ advice to a client base ranging from start-ups to foreign corporates within the technology, automotive and retail sectors. Mark Symons and Angela Shields recently
‘HIGHLY VALUED’ Commercial property
Real-estate specialist BrookStreet des Roches is singled out for its ‘great commercial understanding, which is highly valued by clients’. Managing partner Hugh Blaza and Martin Billings are both recommended.
assisted White Knight Laundry Services with the sale of its business to Berendsen.
In Hampshire, practice head Jonathan Gray defended Ideal Leisure in an unfair dismissal and discrimination claim. Other clients include Frazer Nash Research.
Immigration
Director Andrew Souter is the key name at Pitmans, which has a strong focus on the technology sector. Areas of expertise include sponsorship compliance and assistance with acquiring Schengen visas.
Pensions
David Hosford is praised for his ‘clear and succinct advice on difficult matters’. Director Symon Rowley specialises in pension scheme documentation and is also recommended. Clients include Ryanair UK Pension Plan and The Jockey Club Racehorses Pension Scheme.
Personal injury: defendant
The ‘excellent’ group includes Ferhat Choudri, who is praised for his ‘technical expertise and market knowledge’.
Commercial property
Pitmans advises on residential developments, social housing and finance matters; recent highlights include handling the £17m acquisition of land from 10 separate owners, as well as its onward sale to Bellway Homes. Andrew Davies and Delphine Mehouas are ‘flexible, strategic thinkers’.
In Hampshire, practice head John Newton ‘responds quickly with clear advice’; he recently advised Red Funnel Ferries on its £25m redevelopment of the East Cowes waterfront. Other clients include Lloyds Bank and The Lantern Community.
Property litigation
BrookStreet des Roches is best known for representing national retailers in contentious lease renewal matters and high-value dilapidations claims. Clients include Mothercare and Oxfam. The ‘thorough’ Katy Kirk and ‘experienced’ Philip Shaw are the key names.
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businessmag.co.uk THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – OCTOBER 2016
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