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An exceptional year

THIS has been the year when Howes Percival has really felt at home in its new office located at Rushmills, indeed October 2017 marked the first anniversary of the move. The Partners and Staff could not be happier with the location and the working environment.

The undoubted highlighted of 2017 was the firm of Summers Nigh Law joining in June. Katie Summers, Deborah Nigh and their team of support staff have brought their renowned insolvency experience and client base into the firm, and already it seems like they have been with us for years. The intention was that becoming part of a larger firm would enable their practice to grow much faster and within a few months of joining they have now been able to recruit a much needed assistant solicitor to their team, Neena Jakhu.

Highlights of some of the corporate work completed for clients have included:

– Acting for the shareholders of local business Blue Skies Holdings Limited which sold a minority stake to 8 Miles, a private equity fund established by Sir Bob Geldof. Blue Skies farms, harvests and processes fruit grown in Africa and South America, which creates wealth and employment in those countries. British consumers enjoy great tasting, fresh tropical fruit.

– Acting for private equity fund Constant Equity in its acquisition of Corby based business Keencut.

– Acting for two management teams in separate deals where the majority shareholders sold their shares to private equity funds, and the management teams took minority shareholdings alongside the private equity investor.

– Acting for HSBC Bank plc in its funding of a customer acquiring a chain of pharmacies.

– Acting for the growth investment fund BGF in its investment into a Northampton-based health services provider.

The quality of the corporate transactions completed during 2017 shows that Howes Percival’s corporate team (led by Gerald Couldrake and including Associate Matt Thompson and joined this year by newly qualified Solicitor Miles Barnes), has been involved in all the significant transactions in the county in 2017.

In addition to corporate and insolvency, Howes Percival has made significant investments in other teams. Our private client team under Stuart Maggs has welcomed Samantha Wilson and Lucy Elianu, meaning that in addition to expertise on wills, probate, court of protection and powers of attorney, we can also provide a full advisory service including bespoke succession planning for business owners and landowners and complex tax advisory work with a particular expertise in property matters. Alishia Marrocco has also joined offering family law services and working closely with our private client team on family wealth preservation.

Following the removal of tribunal fees in the summer, the employment team (led by partner Graham Irons) has seen a sharp increase in the number of tribunal claims it is being asked to defend by its clients. The team has also been busy delivering seminars to the County’s HR practitioners on issues ranging from the apprenticeship levy to managing cancer in the workplace.

Our Commercial Property team (led by Partner Lucy Lord and including Consultant John Herd, Associates Erica Gradus and Alexandra Kirkwood and Assistant Ben Mousley) has continued to go from strength to strength throughout 2017, amidst a local market which has remained stable throughout the uncertainty following the 2016 Brexit vote and 2017 snap general election. The team’s unrivalled expertise in, amongst other areas, secured lending and property finance, complex development work, landlord & tenant matters and sales & acquisitions has resulted in a number of high value instructions throughout 2017. Highlights include a marked increase in high value development instructions, acting for a household name house builder on the estate set-up of multiple new residential developments in the Midlands, acting for numerous institutional lenders on large scale portfolio re-finances, and taking on the portfolio work for several commercial property investors, all underpinned by a steady flow of freehold and leasehold acquisition and sales. Notwithstanding the somewhat uncertain times ahead, 2018 promises to be just as a busy and exciting year for the team.

The conclusion of 2017 has been a busy time for Howes Percival. We have sponsored the Food and Beverage Achiever category in the Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards, we were nominated for six awards at the Insider Central and East of England Dealmakers Awards dinner (including for Deal of the Decade: the sale of Corby based CRP Print and Packaging to Smurfit Kappa and have held our inaugural Christmas drinks reception for clients and friends. 2017? Truly, what a year!

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