Legal Business

It’s over: German firm Luther calls off Addleshaws merger talks

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Legal mergers Addleshaw Goddard

Merger talks between Addleshaw Goddard and German outfit Luther have ended after Luther called off the deal, Legal Business understands.

Legal Business reported in January that Addleshaws was in talks to merge with full-service firm Luther, which has ten offices across Germany including Munich, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt. It also has international bases in Brussels, Shanghai, Luxembourg, Yangon, Singapore and London.

According to one source, the talks ended at least a month ago, with Luther making the call.

Despite the talks being called off, another source close to the firm told Legal Business that Addleshaws is still very keen on securing a German tie-up.

Luther’s website states that its worldwide turnover for the financial year 2015/16 was €124m, while the firm’s German revenues amounted to €110.3m.

Had the firms had merged, Addleshaws, which posted revenues of £201.8m for the financial year 2015, would have easily reached its stated goal of becoming a £250m firm by the financial year 2017/18.

On 1 June, Addleshaws finally secured a long-awaited Scottish presence when the firm’s merger with HBJ Gateley went live.

Partners at both firms have attended the first partner conference since the merger, which was held in Edinburgh last Friday.

The Addleshaws-HBJ Gateley tie-up, which will integrate HBJ’s entire Scottish office into Addleshaws, has already resulted in new mandates for the firm. Addleshaws will be appointed as pharmaceutical company Celesio’s preferred law firm on all Scottish real estate matters, according to a statement.

Addleshaws also expects to grow in a number of industry sectors, particularly real estate, financial services and energy.

Four HBJ Gateley partners have also joined the executive team heading Addleshaws’ four operating divisions: David Kirchin in the corporate team, Alan Shanks in finance, Simon Catto in litigation and Miles Ede in real estate.

Last year, merger talks between Addleshaws and Scottish independent Maclay Murray & Spens to create a national practice with combined revenues of around £230m were called off.

Maclays is one of Scotland’s last remaining major independent firms, following Dundas & Wilson’s 2014 merger with CMS, McGrigors’ 2012 tie-up with Pinsent Masons, and Clyde & Co’s takeover of Simpson Marwick last year. Maclays had previously entered talks with Bond Pearce in 2011.

Addleshaw and Luther declined to comment.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Addleshaws, Freshfields and Linklaters line up on Lloyds and Metro Bank £1.9bn and £596.7m acquisitions

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Corporate Addleshaw GoddardFreshfields Bruckhaus DeringerLinklaters

Addleshaw Goddard has scored roles advising both Lloyds Banking Group and Metro Bank on two distinct acquisitions worth £1.9bn and £596.7m respectively, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters on the other side.

Addleshaws’ M&A partner Nick Pearey and financial regulation partner Rosanna Bryant acted for Lloyds on the £1.9bn buyout of credit card provider MBNA from Bank of America. The deal is the bank’s largest acquisition since the 2008 financial crisis.

Freshfields advised Bank of America on the transaction, with corporate partner Sundeep Kapila leading for the firm.

Addleshaws also acted for Metro Bank on its £596.7m takeover of private equity firm Cerberus European Residential Holdings. Addleshaws fielded M&A partner Hugh Lauritsen, alongside Bryant, on the deal. Linklaters acted for Cerberus on the deal.

Legacy HBJ Gateley partners Alan Shanks and Addi Shamash also acted for Addleshaws, who finalised their merger with HBJ this week.

This week, Addleshaws finally secured a long-awaited Scottish presence when the firm’s merger with HBJ Gateley went live yesterday (1 June).

The tie-up, which will integrate HBJ’s entire Scottish office into Addleshaws, has already resulted in new mandates for the firm. Addleshaws will be appointed as pharmaceutical company Celesio’s preferred law firm on all Scottish real estate matters, as Legal Business reported.

Following last year’s failed merger talks with Scottish Independent Maclay Murray & Spens, Addleshaws and HBJ first confirmed plans to merge back in November.  It is expected that the combined firm will have a turnover of £224m, with £214m in UK revenue and more than 240 partners.

The firm is on both Lloyds Bank and Metro Bank’s panels.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Addleshaws chosen as Celesio’s preferred adviser in Scotland as HBJ merger goes live

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Scotland Addleshaw Goddard

Top 20 firm Addleshaw Goddard has finally secured a long-awaited Scottish presence as the firm’s merger with HBJ Gateley goes live today (1 June).

The tie-up, which will integrate HBJ’s entire Scottish office into Addleshaws, has already resulted in new mandates for the firm. Addleshaws will be appointed as pharmaceutical company Celesio’s preferred law firm on all Scottish real estate matters, according to a statement.

Addleshaws also expects to grow in a number of industry sectors, particularly real estate, financial services and energy.

Following last year’s failed merger talks with Scottish Independent Maclay Murray & Spens, Addleshaws and HBJ first confirmed plans to merge back in November.  It is expected that the combined firm will have a turnover of £224m, with £214m in UK revenue and more than 240 partners.

Four HBJ Gateley partners have also joined the executive team heading Addleshaws’ four operating divisions: David Kirchin (corporate), Alan Shanks (finance), Simon Catto (litigation) and Miles Ede (real estate).

John Joyce, Addleshaws managing partner said: ‘The feedback we’ve had from clients so far has been very encouraging, and we are already starting to see the benefits of a combined, UK-wide approach.’

Malcolm McPherson, former HBJ senior partner and now Addleshaws senior partner in Scotland, said in a statement: ‘There are realistic and exciting opportunities for marked growth through our ambition to deliver market-leading advice.’

‘The next few years will present many challenges and opportunities for businesses based or doing business in Scotland, so it’s crucial we have the appropriate reach and expertise to meet their requirements’, he added.

Last year, merger talks between Addleshaws and Maclays to create a national practice with combined revenues of around £230m were called off.

Maclays is one of Scotland’s last remaining major independent firms, following Dundas & Wilson’s 2014 merger with CMS, McGrigors 2012 tie-up with Pinsent Masons, and Clyde & Co’s takeover of Simpson Marwick last year. Maclays had previously entered talks with Bond Pearce in 2011.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

News in brief – May 2017

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Addleshaw GoddardKing & Wood MallesonsPinsent MasonsReed Smith

PINSENTS LAUNCHES IN MADRID

Pinsent Masons has launched in Madrid, the firm’s third international office in less than a year. The new office comprises six partners, four from local Madrid firm Ramón y Cajal Abogados. The firm has also hired from contractor OHL and promoted a Pinsents associate to partner.

Legal Business

Partner promotions: Drastically reduced round for Addleshaws as Burges Salmon makes up trio

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Partnership promotions Addleshaw GoddardBurges Salmon

Addleshaw Goddard and Burges Salmon have announced their latest partner promotions, with Addleshaws seeing a sharp drop in the number of associates being made up from last year.

Last year, Addleshaws promoted 15 lawyers to partner, but this year the firm only made up five. The firm’s corporate and commercial division has gained additions with the promotions of Will Chalk and Oman-based Oliver Stevens while James Davison has been promoted in Addleshaws’ business support and restructuring group. Peter Mason and Hemal Kotecha have been made up in real estate. Last year’s round was a reduction on the 18 promoted in 2015.

Addleshaws managing partner John Joyce commented: ‘It is always a pleasure to recognise the achievements of individuals operating across the firm and we are thrilled to be able to promote these talented lawyers to partnership.

Joyce (pictured) added: ‘Each individual has demonstrated a strong track record of success and will continue to deliver great value to our clients.’

Meanwhile, Burges Salmon has also made three promotions in its latest round, one fewer than last year when the firm promoted four.

Emma Folkes, who joined the firm in 2007 is made up in real estate, while Ian Tucker and Michael Ward have been promoted in disputes.

Burges Salmon managing partner Peter Morris said: ‘We are delighted to welcome these excellent lawyers to the partnership. We have a unique model and collaborative culture at Burges Salmon, and we look forward to seeing all of our new partners thrive in this environment.’

Partner promotions in full:

Addleshaw Goddard

Will Chalk, corporate, UK

Oliver Stevens, corporate, Oman

James Davison, business support and restructuring, UK

Peter Mason, real estate, UK

Hemal Kotecha, real estate, UK

Burges Salmon

Emma Folkes, real estate, Bristol

Ian Tucker, dispute resolution, Bristol

Michael Ward, dispute resolution, Bristol

tom.baker@legalease.co.uk

 

Legal Business

‘A different direction’: Addleshaws GC Callander departs for role at Supergroup

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In-house Addleshaw Goddard

Addleshaw Goddard‘s general counsel (GC) Simon Callander is leaving the firm for a role as GC and company secretary at UK fashion retailer SuperGroup.

Callander (pictured) first joined Addleshaws less than two years ago from Olswang, and has also previously held positions as interim UK GC at Equifax and head of business services at Towers Watson. He trained at legacy Denton Wilde Sapte and went in-house to Ernst & Young before joining Watson Wyatt as GC EMEA and then later global head of commercial law.

Callander will start at SuperGroup in May and leave Addleshaws at the end of this month. It is understood that the firm will appoint someone internally to the role.

His specialities include major commercial contract negotiation; business process analysis and review; litigation and risk management’ corporate transactions and post transaction integration and operational leadership and management.

He replaces SuperGroup’s former GC Lindsay Beardsell, who took the group GC role at the newly merged Ladbrokes Coral Group after three years at Supergroup.

Callander’s departure is likely to be a blow to Addleshaws which has embarked on a series of merger discussions over the last year. The firm is due to merge with Scottish firm HBJ Gateley in June, and is also understood to be in merger discussions with US firm Hunton & Williams and German outfit Luther.

In January, Addleshaws re-elected managing partner John Joyce uncontested for a second term. Joyce, who was appointed into the role in May 2014 for a three-year term, will stand for another four-years beginning in May, following recent changes to the firm’s partnership deed that extended the terms of both managing partner and senior partner by a year.

An Addleshaws spokesperson said: ‘The SuperGroup opportunity takes Simon’s career in a new and different direction and he goes with our thanks and very best wishes.’

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Read more: ‘Welcome to the John Joyce show: Addleshaws’ head aims to push national firm centre stage’

Legal Business

Addleshaws plans to disband third partnership tier as Scottish merger beds down

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Partnership Addleshaw Goddard

Management at Addleshaw Goddard is planning to ultimately phase out its third partnership class, which has been created to accommodate the firm’s merger with Scottish practice HBJ Gateley.

When the merger goes live in June this year, Addleshaws will have three partnership tiers, A, B and C, with B the most senior tier as it contains full equity partners.

The C tier, introduced for the Scottish merger, includes only HBJ partners, but some HBJ partners also sit in the top two tiers at Addleshaws. Partners will be expected to move out of the C class when they are able to bill at rates similar to current Addleshaws partners.

One partner at Addleshaws said the C category has been created for those at HBJ who, on the face of it, wouldn’t be A or B partners under Addleshaws’ existing structure, ‘because obviously the Scottish market means lower rates, lower costs, lower turnover’.

‘If there wasn’t the C category, the relative size, the number of partners and the balance of voting would be skewed. HBJ Gateley is a £20m turnover firm, we are a £200m firm and, proportionately, [HBJ] may have more partners than we do. If they were all admitted to partnership and given votes at the same rate as existing Addleshaws partners, they would have a disproportionately large say given their contribution to the cake. That is the only reason C has been created.

‘We will do away with C as people settle into where they should naturally fit. At Addleshaws we have legal directors, which can be a transition to partnership – or a step sideways – that is our upper tier of seniority below partner. Maybe a C at HBJ is equivalent to an AG legal director, but they are called partners.’

However, recently re-elected Addleshaws managing partner John Joyce (pictured) said: ‘We are not going to go into different categories [of partner]. We just treat them all as partners. We don’t distinguish in our firm at all between fixed share and equity partners.’

A spokesperson added: ‘We don’t and won’t discuss the internal workings of our partnership but there are no plans to change any part of the partnership structure.’

Following a partner vote in November last year, Addleshaws will take over HBJ Gateley’s three Scottish offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The union will see HBJ senior partner Malcolm McPherson join the Addleshaws board. Joyce and senior partner Charles Penney will retain their roles.

Last month Legal Business revealed that Addleshaws has reached a decisive stage in its discussions with US firm Hunton & Williams. It was also revealed in January that Addleshaws is in talks to merge with German outfit Luther.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Read more: ‘Welcome to the John Joyce show: Addleshaws’ head aims to push national firm centre stage’

Legal Business

Addleshaws highest paid member took home more than £1m, LLP accounts reveal

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Financial results 2015/16 Addleshaw Goddard

Addleshaw Goddard‘s highest paid partner took home £1.1m in 2015/16, up from £936,000, its recently filed LLPs reveal. The accounts show turnover at £195.1m, an increase of 4%.

While the accounts also showed a third consecutive year of growth, with fees up from £186.9m, this figure was lower than the £202m reported by the firm in 2016, as not all of the firm’s business is covered in the LLP accounts.

An Addleshaws spokesperson said: ‘The difference between press release reported income of £202m is due to the impact of associated entities that for accounting purposes sit outside of the group and so are not consolidated with UK numbers.’

As Legal Business reported in 2016, the Berevosky settlement, a case relating to previous years and worth about £5m-10m, was also included in the firm’s 2015/16 figures.

Addleshaws closed the year in its strongest ever cash position at £25.7m, which the firm said was an increase of over £20m achieved through income and profit growth, better financial management and the firm entering into a revolving credit facility on 12 May 2015.

The spokesperson added: ‘The EU referendum and other macro-economic issues created a period of uncertainty which was particularly reflected in confidence and transactional activity at the start of the new financial year. Despite this uncertainty, a lot of the measures taken over the last two years leave the firm not only in an incredibly strong position but also very well positioned with an improved platform, client portfolio and sector focus.’

The average number of partners increased by six to 166 while average number of employees during the year excluding partners was 1,159, an increase of 140, or 14%

The firm recently re-elected managing partner John Joyce (pictured) for another four years, a term which he will begin in May. The LB100 firm is also in merger talks with US firm Hunton & Williams, which are said to be going from strength to strength, despite previous speculation that the discussions had been called off.

kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Four more years: Addleshaws elects Joyce for second term as managing partner

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Leadership Addleshaw Goddard

Addleshaw Goddard managing partner John Joyce has been re-elected uncontested for a second term as the firm continues its growth through mergers.

Legal Business revealed in November that Joyce was standing again as partners at the firm voted to acquire HBJ Gateley’s three Scottish offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Joyce, who was appointed into the role in May 2014 for a three-year term, will stand for another four-years beginning in May, following recent changes to the firm’s partnership deed that extended the terms of both managing partner and senior partner by a year.

Widely touted as a galvanising force for the top 20 firm, Joyce has led Addleshaws through current discussions with full service German firm Luther, which has ten offices across Germany. Luther’s turnover is €124m globally. If merger talks are successful, Addleshaws would easily reach its goal of achieving £250m in fee income by the financial year 2017/18. Since Joyce’s appointment, revenue at the firm has grown from £171.4m in 2013/14 to £201.8m in 2015/16.

‘Three years ago we set out a plan to improve business focus, performance and returns,’ said Joyce. ‘Despite the challenging economic and market conditions, we have made substantial progress in developing and improving our business across numerous fronts, most recently through the combination with HBJ – just one aspect of our strategic ambitions and we remain committed to further expansion internationally and in the UK.’

The firm is also in merger talks with US firm Hunton & Williams, which are reported to be going from strength to strength, despite previous speculation that the discussions had been called off.

madeleine.farman@legalease.co.uk

Read more in: ‘Welcome to the John Joyce show: Addleshaws’ head aims to push national firm centre stage’

Legal Business

Addleshaws settles £5m arbitration against former partner

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Litigation Addleshaw Goddard

Management at Addleshaw Goddard has settled arbitration proceedings against former head of real estate Mark Haywood, two years after he quit for Nabarro.

While the details of the case against former partner Haywood were made public after managing partner John Joyce circulated the information in a board report in October next year, the case has since been settled. The dispute was valued at £5m, which Nabarro had agreed to cover the costs of.

Nabarro recruited Haywood for the launch of its Manchester office alongside partners Nathan Jansen and Monica Brij in 2014.

Addleshaws had instructed XXIV Old Buildings’ Alan Steinfield QC, while Haywood was represented by Lewis Silkin and Serle Court’s John Machell QC. The usual grounds for suing partners for damages include loss of future revenue or loss of a key client.

Since Haywood’s departure, Addleshaws has tightened the rules around partner exits. The firm’s original partnership deed had a ‘bottleneck provision’, which meant no more than seven equity partners could leave without board consent in one financial year. However, earlier this year the firm changed the provision to extend it to fixed-share, or ‘category A’ partners. Other changes include the introduction of ‘bad leaver’ provisions and restrictive covenants relating to fee-earners.

Addleshaws has since bolstered its real estate practice significantly by taking advantage of partner exits at King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) European practice.

At the end of 2016 the firm hired former managing partner William Boss, as well as property partner Simon Tager and commercial real estate partner Michael Scott. It also hired commercial real estate managing associate Luke Harvey who joins as a partner. The combined fee earning potential of that group is almost £5m.

This month the firm also hired KWM construction specialist Julia Court, who had also been a partner at legacy SJ Berwin.

Addleshaws and Nabarro declined to comment.

victoria.young@legalease.co.uk

Read more in: ‘Welcome to the John Joyce show: Addleshaws’ head aims to push national firm centre stage’