Shakespeare Martineau corporate team supports ‘record-breaking’ £4.6bn in deals

The corporate and banking teams at law firm Shakespeare Martineau have supported a ‘record-breaking’ £4.6bn worth of deals during 2023, including more than £2bn pounds’ worth of deals in London alone.

Experts in mergers and acquisitions, fast growth businesses, funding and finance, Shakespeare Martineau’s national team of more than 80 lawyers enjoyed an increase in activity and value in 2023. Sector highlights include energy, infrastructure and renewables, technology, med tech and healthcare.

Deals from the London team included complex transactions such as Helm Godfrey’s sale to Hurst Point Group in 2023, and the takeover of gold mining company Tulla Resources.

Catherine Moss, partner at the firm’s London hub, commented: “London's corporate team had a busy year advising a variety of entrepreneurs on the realisation of value from the disposal of key assets including a portfolio of shopping centres, a gold mine to a wealth management business.

“We also played a role in establishing a purpose-built student accommodation investment group and building out a Sharia-compliant bridging loans business. All our transactions were bespoke to the needs of their owners, designed to enhance or achieve value in one of the most difficult markets.”

The firm’s single largest deal came in at £1.2bn for an undisclosed fund manager.

Michael Stace, partner and head of corporate, added: “The calendar year of 2023 was another strong year for our corporate team. Despite the challenging market conditions and the fact that most transactions are taking longer to close, we managed to increase both the volume and value of matters we advised on in 2023 compared to 2022.

“I am very proud of this achievement given the UK M&A market actually experienced a material reduction in volume and value in 2023, and it is testament to the hard work of our national team and the investments we have made in it.

“2024 will be an interesting year but we remain optimistic, are still seeing a decent level of activity and new enquiries and have plans for further investments."

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