Press Releases

The Autumn Budget and spending review contained very few surprises, given that a number of measures were announced in advance: a rise in the minimum wage, an end to the public sector pay freeze, reducing the Universal Credit taper.More details of the government's long term ambitions were barely mentioned, nor was there much mention of flagship programmes such as Freeports while net zero ambitions and the levelling up agenda were often repeated mantras ...

Leading UK law firm Shoosmiths was named Belfast Chamber’s Green Champion at its 2021 Business Awards.. Co-heads of Shoosmiths’ Belfast office, Gillian Crotty and Mark Blair, accepting the Green Champion award. The awards recognise businesses in Northern Ireland, with Shoosmiths picking up an accolade for its environmental strategy, including its engagement with staff and the legal support provided to clients ...

Leading UK law firm Shoosmiths has advised AEW Europe LLP (AEW Europe) in its expansion, via a new Basingstoke Five Guys restaurant.One of the most exciting food and beverage (F&B) operators in the UK market, the burger and fries chain has taken on a 15 year lease at Festival Place, Basingstoke. Strategic advice given by Shoosmiths was vital in finalising the transaction, securing vacant possession and allowing the new lease with Five Guys to be concluded ...

Leading UK law firm Shoosmiths is celebrating after receiving their best rankings in the Chambers and Partners 2022 UK Guide.Researchers from the esteemed legal directory ranked Shoosmiths across 71 practice areas. The firm retained all 18 band 1 practice area positions, while teams, including Corporate / M&A Lower Mid-Market in Yorkshire, Intellectual Property in the Midlands and Real Estate in Northern Ireland broke into eight new practice area tables across the UK ...

Leading UK law firm Shoosmiths is celebrating after being crowned ‘Legal Provider of the Year’ at the Motor Finance Europe Awards for the second year running.The awards, which were held in Munich, Germany, followed the annual Motor Finance Conference and saw the great and the good from the motor finance world gather to celebrate leaders in the field ...

Leading UK law firm Shoosmiths has acted for the shareholders of Talking Talent Holdings Limited (Talking Talent) on an investment from specialist sustainable and impact investor Bridges Fund Management (Bridges).The Shoosmiths team was led by corporate partners Kiran Dhesi and Sanjeev Sharma, alongside associates Lawrence Renny and Molly Cullen ...

Leading UK law firm Shoosmiths continues its ambitious growth plans in Northern Ireland, appointing corporate lawyer Andrew Jennings as partner.Andrew is dual qualified in Northern Ireland and England and Wales, with a strong reputation for venture capital and private equity work. His experience spans Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, advising a vast array of large local and international companies, private equity funds and fast growth businesses ...

Leading UK law firm Shoosmiths has advised MIP Holdings on a £29 million recommended offer for French Connection Group PLC, in a major milestone deal set to take the fashion retailer private.The Shoosmiths’ team was led by partner Richard Millington working alongside fellow corporate partner Andrew Millar and banking partner Tim McNamara ...

Businesses seeking professional advice understandably expect it to be correct. When the advice given is wrong, the resulting financial fallout can be extremely serious. Most professionals carry insurance and can be held accountable in those circumstances, but the process of recovering the cost and expense of bad professional advice can be time consuming, expensive and may not always be successful ...

Leading UK law firm Shoosmiths has scooped Legal Technology Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards at The Grosvenor, London on 30 September.Feedback from independent judges said the firm had won because of successfully “combining a number of tools into its New How initiative”. Shoosmiths’ award submission told of responding quickly to the pandemic by adopting new ways of working and capturing the willingness of its clients to do things differently ...

Leading UK law firm, Shoosmiths, has underlined its vision to achieve further growth in Scotland with the announcement today (30 September) that three experienced and respected partners of the firm have been appointed to assume key managerial roles within its operations. (Photo: Barry McKeown & Alison Gilson) Janette Speed, real estate partner and previously head of Edinburgh has been officially named head of Scotland for Shoosmiths ...

Leading UK law firm Shoosmiths is celebrating its best ever Legal 500 results, with 120 practice rankings, up from 115 last year.Shoosmiths’ results include eight new rankings. Of the 120 rankings, 33 are top tier in the tables. There were four moves into tier one, including Insolvency and Corporate Recovery (West Midlands) and Employment (Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx). The firm has also had 29 rankings across its divisions and locations move up a tier ...

Leading UK law firm Shoosmiths has recruited highly experienced funds lawyer Barry Stimpson into its corporate team.Barry’s experience as a funds specialist with City and international law firms extends to more than 30 years in advising clients on establishing real estate, venture capital and private equity funds and other investment structures, as well as on mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings and other corporate work ...

Leading UK law firm Shoosmiths has advised national real estate fund manager Moorfield Group on the disposal of The Trilogy to Barings for approximately £53.5 million.The Trilogy is a build to rent asset based in Manchester featuring 232, one, two and three bed apartments, together with a range of onsite amenities, including a gym, 24 hour concierge, underground car parking for 75 vehicles, a communal courtyard garden and a residents’ lounge ...

The number of venture capital ‘megadeals’ in the UK has increased tenfold over the last decade, according to a report by leading UK law firm Shoosmiths in partnership with intuitive data platform, Beauhurst – UK Megadeals: Past, Present and Future.Ten years ago saw just five ‘megadeals’ – where £50 million or more was invested into UK companies. However the report reveals in the first half of 2021 there were 51 megadeals ...

Leading UK law firm Shoosmiths has recruited highly experienced Financial Services Disputes Partner, Daren Allen, to join its growing Financial Services Disputes and Investigations (FSDI) team as part of its award-winning Dispute Resolution and Litigation practice.An expert in business crime and investigations, Daren joins Shoosmiths after five years as head of these practice areas at Dentons ...

UK law firm Shoosmiths has become a sponsor of the prestigious Young Professionals in Yachting (YPY) organisation. Invitations to become a sponsor are restricted only to firms and organisations the YPY believes will enhance their service to young entrepreneurs and existing young talent in the yachting industry ...

Leading UK law firm Shoosmiths has announced former general counsel for Telefónica UK, Ed Smith will be joining the firm as a commercial partner in its business advisory division from 4 October ...

The UK’s energy supply market has been undergoing a period of consolidation, with the number of fully licensed suppliers falling to under 50 from a high of 62 in 2018, according to a report commissioned by Shoosmiths and produced by Cornwall Insight - Consolidation in the domestic energy market.Not only is consolidation expected to continue in the near term, it will be combined with a major shift in business models that is set to define the market further ...

Leading UK law firm Shoosmiths has advised the shareholders of Go Geothermal Ltd (Go Geothermal) on their sale to the Stockholm exchange listed group, NIBE Industrier AB (publ.). The agreement will see NIBE Industria AB acquire 50% of the shares in Go Geothermal and the remaining shares within a five-year period.Established in 2006, Go Geothermal is a significant distributor of heat pumps and installation equipment and is a key player within the UK’s manufacturing industry ...

Leading UK law firm Shoosmiths has announced two new co-heads at its Spinningfields Manchester office. Debra Cooper, banking partner, and Sarah Teal, corporate restructuring and advisory partner, will take on the leadership position jointly.Based at the award winning XYZ building in Spinningfields, the new leadership change will be effective 1st September 2021 ...

One issue which many employers are currently grappling with is whether to make vaccination against COVID-19 compulsory for employees returning to the workplace. In a 2-part article we consider this issue in the context of care homes and other workplaces.What about other employers not in the care sector? In Part 2 of this article, we look at the situation for employers outside of the care home sector. (Care home employers can access Part 1 here) ...

Leading UK law firm Shoosmiths has advised Peel L&P (a renowned UK real estate regeneration business) and their housebuilding arm, Northstone, to secure residential development permission for up to 276 dwellings in Horwich, Bolton ...

Shoosmiths has advised rolling stock asset management company Porterbrook on the leasing of a 135-acre site at Long Marston, Warwickshire. The site will be used by Porterbrook as a rail facility and includes 12 miles of storage sidings, a two-mile test track loop, electrified railway line and a number of maintenance buildings.Porterbrook has been at the heart of the UK rail network for over 25 years and owns around a quarter of the national passenger rail fleet ...

Leading UK law firm Shoosmiths has launched its inaugural annual Impact Report and has revealed its year end results for FY 2020/21.The Impact Report, which can be viewed here, shows the progress the firm has made in developing client relationships, reaching Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals outlining actions taken and reveals the firm’s year on year financial performance ...