Professionals: Law school awards star students; Yorkshire advisers work on sale of £19m turnover group; and more

BPP University Law School has awarded its star students for the 2015/16 academic year.

The evening marked the first BPP University Law School prize-giving event at its Leeds study centre in Whitehall Quays, with the awards recognising academic excellence.

The evening was attended by law students who had studied on either the LLB, Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) or Legal Practice Course (LPC) in Leeds during the academic year.

Presenting the prizes were Jo-Anne Pugh, BPP University Law School’s director of LPC programmes, and representatives from a number of firms who had donated prizes and agreed to sponsor the event.

The prize-winners (sponsors in brackets) were:

GDL Contract Law – Jessica Hambly (Addleshaw Goddard)
GLD Law of the European Union – Carmen Harland (Heslop Platt)
GDL Law of the European Union – Beth Bradley (Heslop Platt)
GDL Land Law – Carmen Harland (Shulmans)
GDL Land Law – William Lord (Shulmans)
Best Performing GDL Student Overall – William Lord (DWF)
LLB Land Law – Farhana Yasin (Shulmans)
LLB Law of the European Union – Zdenek Sokolik (Heslop Platt)
LLB Criminal Law – Louisa Northway (Henry Hyams)
LLB Contract Law – Rochelle Probert (Gordons)
LPC Advanced Commercial Litigation – Kathryn Butler (Squire Patton Boggs)
LPC Advanced Commercial Property – India Haresign (Schofield Sweeney)
LPC Commercial Law and Intellectual Property – Marianne McKeown (Walker Morris)
LPC Corporate Finance – Kathryn Butler (Eversheds)
LPC Employment Law – Katherine Wackett (Irwin Mitchell)
LPC Family Law – Rachel Mellor (Mills and Reeve)
LPC Immigration Law – Teenu James (Simpson Millar)
LPC Private Acquisitions – Kathryn Butler (Bond Dickinson)
LPC Private Client – Hannah Rodgers (Addleshaw Goddard)
LPC Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence – Emily-Rose Garthwaite (Medico Legal Society)

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A TEAM of Yorkshire advisers have worked on the sale of a £19m turnover group providing HVAC, mechanical and electrical engineering solutions, to SPIE SA.

Manchester-based Environmental Engineering and its subsidiary MSS Clean Technology has been acquired by SPIE, the independent European leader in electrical and mechanical engineering, HVAC services and energy and communication systems, strengthening its presence in the food, beverage and pharmaceutical sectors.

A team of advisers from Sentio Partners and law firm Shulmans advised the shareholders of EE.

EE specialises in HVAC, mechanical and electrical engineering services within the food and beverage industry whilst its subsidiary MSS specialises in the design, installation and commissioning of clean technology systems for laboratories and other controlled environments within the pharmaceutical and related sectors.

EE joins SPIE UK’s industrial services division, adding further mechanical capability to SPIE UK’s multi-technical services offering. With offices in Manchester and York, the acquisition further enhances SPIE UK’s presence in Northern and Central England.

Andrew Barlow and Dave Irwin acted as lead advisers to the shareholders.
Mr Barlow said: “Finding a strategic acquirer within which EE could continue its growth was crucial for the shareholders. SPIE represents the ideal partner to enable EE to maximise its future potential, with the business providing SPIE with a strong platform for growth into the food and pharmaceutical sectors.”

Andrew Bradley and Laura Giltrap (Shulmans) provided legal advice to the shareholders. SPIE were advised by a team from Pinsent Masons in Manchester (Helen Ridge, Amie Norris), with financial due Diligence provided by BDO (Alex Karski, Mohammed Imran).

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HUDDERSFIELD accountants Crowther is moving from its Leeds Road base, where it has been since 2000, to larger offices at Pennine Park.

The  firm said the relocation to Pennine Business Park will enable it to accommodate its expanding workforce.

Crowther works with businesses of all sizes, from start-ups to corporate finance, and has specialisms in working with charities and community interest companies.  
Steve Crowther, founder and managing director, said: “Our office move is the culmination of an intense period of planning and structuring to put in place solid foundations for the upcoming years. As a result, I’m absolutely confident that Crowther has never been better placed to help our clients fulfill their business ambitions.”

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MEMBERS of Leeds Junior Lawyers Division (JLD) have started a year of fundraising activity for homelessness charity Emmaus Leeds.

Leeds JLD had their first fundraising event of the year for Emmaus last month, a 1920s inspired Gatsby themed evening and raffle which raised £485 for the charity.

Rachael Jackson, charity Officer for Leeds JLD, said: “The evening was a great success, everyone really got into the swing of things and the donations from the members were extremely generous.

“Leeds JLD are really excited to be supporting Emmaus Leeds as our nominated charity of the year for 2017 and hope that we can help them to continue the amazing work they do for their companions and for the rest of the community. They truly are an inspiration and we are looking forward to the many other fundraising events we have planned and getting our members involved.”