Professionals: Law firm advises on Cairngorm Capital deal; Leeds’ Exchange Chambers to lead multi-billion pound legal claim; and more

Simon Pilling

Lawyers at Bond Dickinson have advised Cairngorm Capital on its acquisition of a distributor of windows, doors and conservatory roofs.

A team led by Simon Pilling and James Cook along with associate Catherine Willis from Bond Dickinson’s Leeds office advised Cairngorm Capital and Cairngorm Capital’s investee company, Stevenswood Trade Centres, on the acquisition of Sameday Holdings.

Established in 2006, Sameday operates a network of seven branches in the west of England, from Bristol to Reading, distributing windows, doors and conservatory roofs to the installer market. Headquartered in Cheltenham, the company employs 20 people.

The new combined group will continue to be headquartered in Livingston and will have over 37 branches across the UK, generating revenues of over £45m and employing more than 180 staff.
Pilling said: “The team at Cairngorm Capital have a clear strategy to increase their network of trade centres over the next five years, to become the leading trade counter distributor in the UK. We’re delighted to have helped the team complete this latest transaction which takes them one step closer to achieving their vision.”

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Tom Handley, director of Exchange Chambers

Exchange Chambers in Leeds will lead a multi-billion pound legal claim against five of the world’s biggest vehicle manufacturers following a massive price-fixing fine imposed last year by the European Commission.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) has lined up funding from Therium Capital Management for a potentially vast compensation claim, which could see further penalties imposed on DAF, Daimler, Iveco, MAN and Volvo Group, which manufactures both Volvo and Renault trucks.

David Went from Exchange Chambers in Leeds said: “We are taking this case to the Competition Appeal Tribunal as it is the specialist court in the UK that deals with these types of claims and is an effective way to seek redress for operators. The initial stage involves asking the Tribunal to authorise the RHA to act as industry representative and to set out the basis on which operators can opt into the claim. The first hearing is expected to be later this year.”

Tom Handley, director of Exchange Chambers, said: “Working with solicitors Backhouse Jones our team will seek the best compensation deal than it can on behalf of Road Haulage Association members.  The funding from Therium is the largest tranche of After The Event insurance that’s ever been underwritten.”

It is understood to be the first British legal claim emerging from the aftermath of a €2.93bn price-fixing fine imposed on the five companies last July by Brussels-based competition watchdogs.

The RHA estimates that roughly 650,000 trucks were sold in the UK between 1997 and 2011 – the 14-year period that the cartel was deemed by the European Commission to have been in operation.  Individuals who join the claim will not be charged for doing so.

Last year’s fines in Europe sent shockwaves through the business community as they smashed the record for penalties imposed on a single cartel.

Announcing them, Margrethe Vestager, the EU Competition Commissioner, said last July: “There are over 30 million trucks on European roads, which account for around three-quarters of inland transport of goods in Europe and play a vital role for the European economy.

“It is not acceptable that MAN, Volvo/Renault, Daimler, Iveco and DAF, which together account for around nine out of every 10 medium and heavy trucks produced in Europe, were part of a cartel instead of competing with each other.”

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John Baddeley, Rebecca Robinson, Lisa Davison and Gavin Hesketh.

Sheffield law firm Wake Smith has advised the shareholders of Spencer Coatings Group on the company’s acquisition by US-based Axalta Coating Systems.

Global liquid and powder coatings supplier Axalta bought the Spencer Coatings Group, the largest independent industrial coatings manufacturer in the UK, for an undisclosed sum earlier this month.

The purchase will see the group able to exploit its portfolio of brands and world class technologies into a global market and benefit from greater investment and growth programmes through Axalta’s backing.

Axalta conducts business in 130 countries, has nearly 13,000 employees, and has more than 100,000 customers boasting net sales of $4.1bn in 2016.

The Spencer Coatings Group, established in 1909, has administrative, sales and manufacturing bases in Aberdeen, Belfast, Mansfield, Manchester, West Bromwich and Tewkesbury employing around 130 staff.

The Wake Smith team was led by corporate director John Baddeley with associate solicitor Rebecca Robinson and solicitor Gavin Hesketh assisting and commercial property director Lisa Davison advising on property-related aspects.

John Baddeley, who has acted for Spencer Coatings Group on a number of previous acquisitions over the years, said: “’We are really pleased to have advised the shareholders of Spencer Coatings on this transaction and assisted in securing the best possible outcome for all parties involved. The shareholders are delighted with the strong message from Axalta that growth, support and investment, as part of a bigger company, will be forthcoming.

“We wish Axalta and Spencer Coatings the best of luck in their future plans.”

 

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