Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) has appointed London partner Mike Flockhart as its new joint managing partner for corporate, succeeding the veteran deals guru Stephen Wilkinson.
Flockhart (pictured), who will assume the role on 1 December, will work alongside fellow co-head and Australian partner Carolyn Pugsley. Wilkinson, well regarded as the firm’s relationship partner for key client Sky, will return to full-time practice after four years in the leadership position.
An HSF lifer and a partner since 2013, Flockhart is an M&A and equity capital markets specialist, recently advising easyJet on its £1.2bn rights issue.
Speaking to Legal Business, Flockhart said: ‘I’ve been here for 20 years and love it. We’ve made great progress under Stephen and Carolyn, and I’m eager to take over and build on the great platform they have established. I’m enthusiastic about the future.’
By all accounts Flockhart assumes the position at a good time for HSF’s corporate division. Refinitiv data for 2021 had HSF ranked number one in the UK, Australia and Asia-Pacific respectively, and third in Europe, for announced M&A deals by value. And in Legal Business’s analysis of HSF from February, disputes managing partner Damien Byrne Hill claimed the corporate team had outperformed the firm’s much-vaunted contentious division that year.
Flockhart added: ‘After back-to-back record years, we have continued in that vein with a strong first half of the year. Markets are now less robust than they were, but we are still seeing a lot of opportunities, particularly in the energy transition.’
In terms of recent highlights for the deals team, Flockhart pointed to HSF advising Capital & Counties Properties in June on its merger with Shaftesbury. The two companies have a combined £5bn real estate portfolio, with assets in many of the capital’s most famous locations including Covent Garden, Carnaby Street, Chinatown and Soho.
HSF fielded a team from the London M&A and equity capital markets groups, including Wilkinson, Alex Kay, Heidi Gallagher and Michael Jacobs.
For more on HSF’s recent fortunes, read our analysis from this year: ‘Between Two Peaks’.
