The corporate department at the region’s leading law firm Harrison Clark Rickerbys has identified increasing confidence within the business community after achieving a remarkable set of results for the first six months of its financial year – advising on 63 sales, mergers, acquisitions and exits totalling over £100 million between April and September.
The firm’s 20-strong corporate legal team, based at offices in Worcester, Cheltenham, Hereford, Ross-on-Wye, the Thames Valley and Birmingham, is one of the country’s largest outside the major cities and advises companies nationwide.
Significantly, a number of the deals completed were acquisitions and investments, reflecting an increasingly positive outlook across the marketplace. Deals have included assisting Cheltenham investment facilitators Angels4Angels to make a significant, growth-focused financial investment in Bristol-based HR and employee benefits provider Premier Employer Solutions Limited (PES); the disposal of an aerospace business by long-standing client Tricorn Group Plc, whose head office is in Malvern; advising on the HR aspects of the merger between North East Worcestershire College and Worcester College of Technology; and helping Gloucester mobile healthcare provider Vanguard Healthcare Solutions Ltd to achieve a £16.5 million refinancing deal with high street bank, AIB. Harrison Clark Rickerbys Health and Social Care Team also acted for Voyage Care, the UK’s largest provider of support for people with learning disabilities, in their acquisition of Warwickshire-based specialist care provider Ingleby Care.
Rod Thomas, Managing Partner at Harrison Clark Rickerbys, said; “The mergers and acquisitions marketplace continues to be buoyant at this time. This is reflected across all sectors, but in particular we have seen a number of strong transactions in manufacturing and IT. The general sense of confidence which has spread both to the business community, and increasingly to lending institutions, suggest that the next six months will remain equally strong. However, the uncertainty as to future economic growth – predominantly in continental EU countries – means that many businesses, particularly those with strong export sales, still remain somewhat cautious at this time.”
This impressive set of results from Harrison Clark Rickerbys not only highlights the expertise of the department, but also reflects the firm’s recent top ranking in two prestigious listings: The Legal 500 UK, where it was listed as a top-tier West Midlands law firm in four practice areas, including corporate and commercial; and The Chambers Guide, with the Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions department ranked as Band 1 and described as offering an ‘impressive full-service corporate practice, including private and public company M&A, private equity and financing. Capable of acting for local, regional and national clients.’
Harrison Clark Rickerbys has offices in Worcester, Cheltenham, Hereford, Ross-on-Wye, the Thames Valley and Birmingham, providing a complete spectrum of legal services to both business and private clients, regionally and nationwide. The firm also has a number of highly successful teams specialising in individual market sectors, including health and social care, education, agriculture and rural affairs, hospitality, leisure and sport, defence, security and the forces, legal services involving children and construction and engineering.
To find out more please contact:
Clare Farquhar T: 01531 640256 E : clare@whitefootpr.co.uk
Kabbie Langford T: 07940 371794 E : kabbie@whitefootpr.co.uk