Corporate Group

Halliwells’ Corporate Group advises a broad range of corporate and institutional clients through teams based in each of the firm’s offices in Liverpool, London, Manchester and Sheffield. The group’s commercial approach and ability to respond quickly to opportunities has helped its clients to achieve considerable success.

Whether you are an institution or a corporate, we have in-depth experience across a wide range of sectors. Our lawyers combine legal expertise and market knowledge with an understanding of your business to deliver advice which is constructive, practical and cost-effective. Our experience covers a wide range of transactional and advisory work including acquisitions and disposals, takeovers, flotations, private equity investments, debt deals, corporate tax advice and employee incentive arrangements.

The strength of our corporate practice makes us a substantial force in the legal market. We work with both national and international clients in the increasingly global business community.

Halliwells has an enviable track record of working with leading corporates, institutions and entrepreneurs in fast moving environments to close deals on time and on budget.

A number of the partners within the Corporate Group are amongst those very few lawyers in the UK who have gained the prestigious Corporate Finance qualification from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

The qualification draws on the experience of the ICAEW’s Corporate Finance Faculty, Europe’s largest network of professionals in corporate finance. It focuses on corporate finance, is truly global in perspective, and is targeted at industry leaders.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is the mainstay of the work we do. We handle numerous M&A transactions each year. Most involve either the strategic acquisition or disposal of subsidiaries by corporates or the sale of private companies on behalf of private equity or family/owner-manager shareholders. We also have significant ‘Blue Book’ expertise and regularly advise on public company takeovers. Our support includes advice in relation to the M&A process, negotiation of deal terms, due diligence and co-ordinating the input of specialist groups of lawyers and other advisers.

The Corporate Group draws on the expertise of lawyers who are highly trained in specialist areas of M&A work including real or intellectual property, human resources, pensions, and tax and regulatory. In addition, we actively project manage M&A transactions on behalf of our clients, not just the legal process.

Our expertise includes:

• acquisitions and disposals
• public company takeovers
• mergers and demergers
• group re-organisations
• major projects, including joint ventures

An increasing amount of our M&A work involves multiple jurisdictions. Our M&A team has a wealth of experience in overseas deals and possesses the unique skills required to close complex, cross-border transactions.

We work with our own network of law firms throughout the EU, USA and Asia-Pacific region to deliver a seamless global service on cross-border deals.

Private Equity

Our lawyers advise private equity houses on their investments throughout the UK as well as management teams, corporate venturers and the acquisition finance divisions of many leading banks. We also work with equity houses on the establishment of funds and in the structuring of incentive arrangements for managers.

The private equity team also works with equity houses on exits, whether by trade sale, secondary buyout, flotation or refinancing. We understand the concerns of institutions regarding residual liability and the obligations they have to their funds. Working closely with capital markets and acquisition finance colleagues, we offer bespoke advice in relation to possible IPO exits and debt arrangements.

We have a strong track record of advising on public to private transactions, whether advising the target company, private equity house, financial adviser, bank or management team. We utilise the skill sets of our private equity, M&A and capital markets teams to combine in-depth knowledge of the Takeover Code and all relevant UK listing rules with our broad experience of private equity and debt funding arrangements.

Capital Markets

The capital markets team is experienced in all aspects of the public equity markets in the UK and EU. We are one of Europe’s top five AIM legal advisers and completely dominate this market in the North of England. We advise on public equity fundraisings, from pre-IPO, through to IPO and secondary issues.

Public equity markets are more highly regulated, complex and commercially demanding now than ever before and clients need legal advice that is practical and incisive. Delivered with a thorough understanding of the dynamics of the markets and informed by best practice, our advice supports a range of clients in executing their strategies. We act for a domestic and international base of quoted clients as well as institutional clients including investment banks, corporate finance houses and brokers.

Our capital markets team works very closely with its private equity colleagues to offer an alternative realisation of leveraged and development capital structures.

Our expertise includes:

• IPOs/flotations (all markets)
• secondary fundraisings
• private placements