Squire Patton Boggs leads on £840m of deals in the first half of 2021
The Leeds team at Squire Patton Boggs has led on 36 transactions worth circa £840, during the first half of 2021. Headline deals included advising WM Morrison Supermarkets plc on the acquisition of Falfish (Holdings) ltd, advising on the management buyouts of Hippo Digital Limited and Ligentia Group Holdings ltd, and advising Elaghmore on the £25 million acquisition of Orchard House Foods.
A team comprising corporate partner Hannah Kendrick and associates Louise Parker and Olivia Baccarella advised WM Morrison Supermarkets plc on the acquisition of Falfish (Holdings) Limited, a family-owned wholesaler of sustainably sourced seafood based in Cornwall.
Paul Mann, Squire Patton Boggs
Corporate partner and UK head of private equity, Paul Mann, together with partners Mae Salem and David Milne and associates Joshua Lodge, Nathan Bentley and Emily Downie, advised on the management buyout of leading digital transformation company Hippo Digital Limited.
Mann also led the management buyout of international supply chain solutions business Ligentia Group Holdings Limited, a deal that included its subsidiaries in Australia, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam and Poland. He was assisted by director Jayne Aarons, senior associate Craig Pettit and associates Downie and Baccarella.
Kendrick, assisted by senior associate Hannah Crosland and associate Joshua Headley, advised private equity fund Elaghmore on the £25 million acquisition of prepared fruit, fresh fruit drinks and desserts supplier Orchard House Foods from Hain Celestial.
“While pent up demand and anxiety around a potential tax increase in the Budget contributed to a bumper start to the year, activity is continuing and our deal pipeline is strong,” commented Kendrick, who heads the Leeds corporate practice. “There are an array of issues driving activity – whether trade, regulatory or technological change, the need to secure supply chains or address sustainability, businesses are having to adapt and evolve to position themselves for future growth.”
Salem, who became a partner in the team on 1 May 2021, added, “We have had an exceptionally busy first half of the year and with sponsors increasingly looking at healthcare, life sciences and tech-focused investments, activity continues to look strong in these and other sectors as the private equity community seek to deploy their capital.”
