Legal Business

Financial Regulatory and Disputes Summit: Stranger than fiction

Even amid a stellar agenda at Legal Business’ Financial Regulatory and Disputes Summit 2023 last November, CMS’ session – Shams and charades: Lessons learned from abusive litigation against banks – made shockwaves around the auditorium of the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in London’s Westminster.

Indeed, it’s not often that a panel discussion elicits gasps of astonishment from delegates, but that’s exactly what happened when CMS’ finance disputes partners Tom Dane and Vanessa Whitman (pictured) sat down with Neil Kitchener KC of One Essex Court to discuss their experience representing Allied Irish Banks in the curious case of Kallakis v AIB.

Legal Business

Financial results 22/23: CMS sees deceleration in revenue growth following last year’s standout figures

CMS has reported a 6% uptick from last year’s €1.746bn to €1.862bn in global revenue growth in its recent set of financial results this week, with UK turnover also up by 6% to £686m from FY21/22’s £644m.

Despite the continued financial growth, revenue has slowed considerably since last year, which saw an 18% spike to the global top line and a 14% increase in UK turnover.As per the firm’s tradition, CMS has not made its PEP figure publicly available, however the figure is estimated to be £771,000 by Legal Business, essentially unchanged from last year’s £773,000.

‘The last 12 months have brought continued change and challenges, from inflationary pressures to geopolitical headwinds,’ said CMS’ UK senior partner Penelope Warne (pictured) in a statement. ‘However, as a business we have responded to these challenges and I’m proud of the growth we have achieved, and the resilience shown by our people to support our clients in these uncertain times.’

In its statement, the firm reported that 62 internal lawyers were promoted to partnership across CMS, with a total of 16 promoted in the UK alone. Furthermore, the firm made 15 lateral partner hires over the past 12 months.

CMS’ corporate practice was the most profitable practice area for the firm over the past year, bringing in 29% of the firm’s gross fee income. The dispute resolution practice came a close second, contributing to 28%.

‘2022 was a tough year for businesses across the globe,’ explained the firm’s chairman Pierre-Sébastien Thill.

Managing partner for CMS UK, Stephen Millar added: ‘Over the past year, we have seen solid results across all our practices and sectors, with our teams adapting to the needs of our clients who are facing a plethora of challenges including the economic uncertainty in markets, as well as new regulations.

‘While these uncertainties are likely to continue for all businesses, we are pleased to see the UK’s continued contribution to the firm’s growth and feel well placed as we look to the path ahead.’

Ayesha.Ellis@legalease.co.uk

 

Legal Business

Financials 2021/22: CMS rebounds from quiet year with double-digit revenue growth

CMS is the latest cab off the rank in unveiling its financial results, today (21 July) announcing global revenues of €1.746bn, a healthy 18% hike over 2021/22. The UK top line also saw solid growth, rising 14% to £644m.

The numbers make the firm one of the few to see greater growth in the last 12 months than in 20/21. Last year, the UK business was only able to muster a negligible £1m revenue rise, while the global figure was up 3%. UK managing partner Stephen Millar characterised the year as one of ‘real momentum and growth for the firm’, despite supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine. ‘Our business fundamentals remain strong, and we are confident that these will continue to serve us well as we head into the new financial year.’

As usual, the firm has not revealed its profit or PEP figures for the year. At a UK level, LLP accounts to April 2021 show a modest 2.6% increase in profit from £203.7m to £209m.

Responding to the figures, UK senior partner Penelope Warne (pictured) said: ‘As a future-facing firm, we look to the future with confidence and real determination. The last two years have brought about many changes in the world and the world of work, and we are proud of the way in which we have responded to these challenges and adapted to the changing environment to ensure that we are well positioned for the future. The strength of our business, driven by our clients’ confidence in the firm and our people, has allowed us to pursue our wider commitments and continue to inspire, impact and support our clients, our people and our communities through our wide-ranging ESG programme. From our CMS social impact fund through to our comprehensive D&I programme, we are delivering initiatives with impact.’

The firm’s key highlights in the last 12 months include a record number of partner promotions and the addition of Norwegian outfit Kluge as part of its global expansion strategy.

charles.avery@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

‘I believe in our victory’: Defiant Radchenko named CMS Kyiv managing partner

CMS has named Vitaliy Radchenko the new managing partner of its Kyiv office, as the practice continues to contend with the repercussions of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A 15-year veteran of the firm, Radchenko specialises in M&A and regulatory issues in the energy and power sectors, with a body of work that spans oil and gas, renewable power and mining and minerals.

CEE managing director Dóra Petrányi explained to Legal Business that the appointment was a long time coming: ‘We started the discussions quite a while ago, but then we put all discussions on hold when the war started. Now at this phase of the war we’ve decided that it is the right time to resume the discussions and actually to go ahead with the changes. We always knew that Vitaliy had the full support of all the Kyiv partners.’

The office Radchenko inherits is one forced to take drastic measures in response to the war. Having evacuated the city, staff now finds itself split between Western Ukraine and Budapest for the foreseeable future, though the team remains fully operational.

Speaking candidly with Legal Business, Radchenko acknowledged that the war has posed problems for the legal community in the country. ‘We have seen firms close offices. They even send partners away because they are not able to provide work to them. Some of the local firms almost completely disintegrated, which is a shame, but also understandable, given the circumstances.

‘Our M&A team is not only doing Ukrainian law-governed deals, but rather English law-governed deals in the region. Some other practices, real estate for example, have seen a significant drop off for obvious reasons. We are trying to restructure people’s involvement and find them work within the CMS network. We have also been successful in seconding people to some of the clients.’

Nevertheless, he maintained an optimistic outlook: ‘I believe in our victory, and you can see the change of the mood in Europe as well. Nobody thought we were able to withstand this aggression. I have no doubts that the business in Ukraine will only thrive in a couple of months’ time and we’ll go forward.’

Radchenko has replaced outgoing managing partner Graham Conlon, who hands over the reins after five years to take up a ‘revised CMS role’. An M&A specialist, Conlon is to continue in his role as head of international private equity for the CEE/CIS regions.

‘He’s not going anywhere,’ clarified Petrányi. ‘He is expanding his remit to the Middle East as a corporate and M&A transactional partner’.

charles.avery@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Legal Business Awards 2020 – Real Estate Team of the Year

After much back-and-forth between the judges in a keenly contested category, we are now delighted to reveal the winner of Real Estate Team of the Year for the 2020 Legal Business Awards.

For this award, judges looked for a standout example of real estate-related work, including financing, development or construction, or cases and transactions in planning, environment and regeneration.

 


 

 


Sponsored by

Edwards Gibson

Winners – Addleshaw Goddard/Linklaters/Norton Rose Fulbright

These three firms collaborated to advise the joint venture between Permodalan Nasional Berhad and the Employees Provident Fund on its £1.58bn acquisition of the commercial assets within Phase 2 of the Battersea redevelopment project.

Once redeveloped, the iconic art deco power station building will house Apple’s new European HQ and a private members’ club, a 2,000 capacity events venue and over 250 residential homes along with luxury retail, food and beverage and leisure accommodation.

The deal focuses on one of London’s largest, most hotly-anticipated regeneration sites. Over the years, the site has been subject to a number of unsuccessful redevelopment attempts due to the significant challenges posed by the site – so much so that it has been described as being the ‘Everest of real estate’ on the basis that it is considered to be one of the toughest redevelopment projects in the world, with a number of developers having tried and failed to conquer it.

The transaction is anticipated to comprise one of the UK’s largest-ever single-asset real estate transactions. Linklaters, led by Patrick Plant, advised the joint venture purchaser; the seller (the owners of Battersea Power Station Development Company) was advised by an Addleshaw Goddard team headed by Leona Ahmed; with Norton Rose Fulbright (Dan Wagerfield and Dan Kennedy) acting for the seller on the financing aspects.

No individual firm stood out as contributing to the overall success of this deal: there were a number of different and complex parallel workstreams, which demanded fluid co-ordination between all three firms.

This truly collaborative process meant this entry stood apart. Christopher Gilchrist Fisher, senior director of CBRE Global Investors, said: ‘Without the co-operation and shared objectives of all involved, this transaction would not have happened. Deals of this level of complexity involve managing the multi-layered requirements of various stakeholders. They demand a new type of lawyer – one who works with their respective clients for the future success of the project, above individual requirements, and in the face of short-term gains.’

Highly commended – CMS

Acting for longstanding client Vita on its landmark £600m portfolio sale of Vita Student assets to DWS’s real estate funds. The portfolio comprises a total of 3,198 beds in Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds, Birmingham and Newcastle.

CMS fielded a multi-disciplinary team, led by partners Gareth Saynor and Peter Winnard, comprising over 35 advisers in Sheffield, Manchester, London and Edinburgh, to deliver this deal for Vita. This was a complex transaction requiring significant strategic advice at every stage and was of huge significance for the client, allowing it to scale up its growth and bring more innovative brands to market while continuing to deliver high-quality student accommodation. CMS played a pivotal role in helping the client to achieve its goals.

Other nominations

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

Advising Grange Hotels on the sale of part of the reorganised group to Queensgate Investments for some £1bn, a portfolio comprising four upscale hotels offering around 930,000 sq ft of real estate.

Davitt Jones Bould

Advising The Royal Parks on a novel contract for events held at London’s major parks. With government funding diminishing, TRP was faced with raising over £30m annually and events are seen as key to its long-term financial viability.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

Continuing work on key client Blackstone’s real estate acquisitions and financings, including a joint venture with Telereal Trillium to acquire Network Rail’s £1.46bn commercial real estate portfolio, as well as on its acquisition of Dream Global REIT’s assets.

Womble Bond Dickinson

Advising South Tees Development Corporation on the acquisition and regeneration of TATA Steel’s former steel works on Teesside; this was the first transaction involving a mayoral development corporation outside of London.

Legal Business

Legal Business Awards 2020 – Competition Team of the Year

The entries were reviewed and our panel of general counsel judges delivered their verdicts: we are now delighted to reveal the winner of Competition Team of the Year for the 2020 Legal Business Awards.

This award is given to the team based in either the UK or Brussels that can demonstrate crucial antitrust advice on a specific case, transaction or investigation, or was instrumental in steering a client through a regulatory minefield.

 


 

 


Sponsored by

Winner – CMS

Cox Automotive and Auto Trader agreed a joint venture (JV) to create Dealer Auction, a business-to-business online auction trading platform for the wholesale remarketing of vehicles.

Unusually, and recognising that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) merger control process was a central hurdle, the CMS competition team, led by co-head of competition Brian Sher, was instructed as sole counsel to lead that process for both JV parties.

The proposed JV coincided with a core focus on digital mergers by the CMA, against a backdrop of ongoing worldwide reviews into the application of competition law in the digital sector and a feeling the CMA had not done enough to prevent the adverse competition effects of increasing concentration in digital. This, combined with the fact that the JV would combine two platforms with sell-side market shares between 60 and 70% and limited direct competitors, led to a CMA theory of harm that the JV would eliminate a key ‘potential competitor’ to Cox, and that existing competitors were insufficient to constrain it from exercising market power. The CMA seemed intent on making this the first ‘potential competition’ case to go to a potentially punishing Phase Two review.

However, CMS managed to turn the CMA around during the Phase One process by demonstrating that the market shares over-stated the market power the JV would have given the close interaction between physical and digital sales; and the evidence that the conversion rate of Auto Trader’s listings site was likely to be lower than that of Cox’s digital auction platform.

CMS achieved an unexpectedly early victory, and this allowed integration to begin on time, saving the business risks that can come with a protracted competition delay. Such an effective handling of the competition process led Martin Forbes, chief executive officer of Cox Automotive, to say: ‘I was hugely impressed by the quality of thought, commitment, passion and work ethic with which CMS navigated us through this challenging CMA process. Simply put, they were outstanding. It really does feel like we snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and it feels good. Although absolutely the right decision by the CMA, I still can’t quite believe we managed to get this approved at Phase One.’

Highly Commended – Sidley Austin

Sidley’s London office, led by partner Marie Manley, was co-lead counsel to French pharmaceutical company Les Laboratoires Servier in a landmark case before the EU General Court against a European Commission decision alleging a breach of European competition rules for entering into patent settlement agreements with six generic companies.

In 2014, the European Commission imposed fines totalling €427.7m on Servier and the manufacturers, leading to a landmark test case in Europe. In December 2018 the General Court partially quashed the Commission’s ruling that Servier had engaged in anticompetitive conduct in the patent settlement agreements. Crucially, it annulled not only the decision on the anticompetitive nature of the agreement but also the conclusion that Servier was in a dominant position, holding that the relevant market had been too narrowly defined. As a result, the fine imposed on Servier was reduced by one-third – a significant victory for the innovative pharmaceutical industry. It was also the first time since 1973 that the General Court annulled a decision by the Commission on abuse of dominance based on an incorrect definition of the relevant market.

Other nominations

Ashurst/Gowling WLG

The two firms successfully collaborated in representing Economy Energy Trading and E (Gas and Electricity) to achieve a 75% reduction in combined financial penalties imposed by Ofgem for anti-competitive agreements in the prepayment meter segment.

Bristows

Successfully challenged the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport over a public interest intervention notice it had issued, raising concerns about investments in The Independent and The Evening Standard by Saudi Arabian investors.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

Advising Connect Airways and Cyrus Capital Partners on their acquisition of Flybe Group, securing a rare derogation decision from the European Commission to allow the clients to complete the transaction prior to official merger clearance.

Slaughter and May

Overcoming significant opposition to Vodafone’s acquisition of Liberty Global’s telecoms businesses in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania. The deal was referred for Phase 2 investigation, but was cleared to give Vodafone the largest next-generation network in Europe.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher

Successfully representing Expedia in the Competition and Markets Authority’s 18-month investigation into online hotel booking sites in the UK, specifically into the display of ranking results and the comparison of offers.

Legal Business

LLP: CMS lifts profit amid Hong Kong and Istanbul restructuring as year-end move dampens NRF’s turnover

Operating profits at CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang rose 20% to £192.8m after the firm restructured its Hong Kong and Turkish offices, the LLP accounts have revealed.

Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) also filed its LLP books this week (31 January), showing a £2m decrease in revenue in its EMEA business to £480.7m following a move to the US calendar year-end in 2018.

The profit increase in the year to April 2019 at the 11 UK and 18 overseas offices under CMS’ UK LLP came despite a 13% rise in the firm’s pension contributions to just over £6m. The strong growth in the firm’s profits came amid a 5% turnover growth to £545.4m.

The accounts also revealed changes to the set-up of the Hong Kong and Istanbul offices, with CMS’ UK partnership ending its joint venture agreements in those two jurisdictions in February and January last year respectively.

CMS had opened its Hong Kong branch in 2016 as a joint venture between the UK and German partnerships, and in May 2018 it had formed an alliance with Hong Kong firm Shirley Lau & Co with a view to practising local law.

The LLP books showed the office has since February 2019 been operated only by the German member firm of CMS’ international alliance, CMS Hasche Sigle.

In Turkey meanwhile the firm put an end to its joint venture with local firm YBBK in January last year, and has since been operating through an association with the same firm.

As a result of the reshuffling, the Hong Kong and Turkish offices contributed just £13k and £69k respectively to the UK LLP’s billings in 2018/19, compared to £552k and £661k the year before.

A spokesperson for the firm told Legal Business that the changes were ‘a technical point of entity structure that in no way reflects our growth strategy’.

The LLP books also showed the firm has continued paying off the pension debt it inherited from legacy Nabarro, which stood at £17.2m when the firms merged in 2017.

As part of the recovery plan the firm has agreed to pay £1.25m in the current financial year and aims to eliminate the debt by May 2022.

After the three-way union with Nabarro and Olswang the firm also set up a £85m rolling credit facility with Lloyds Bank and RBS to finance merger costs, which this year’s accounts show was reduced to £65m in July 2018.

‘The costs of the merger have now been paid for and we ended the year in a strong positive cash position of £45m,’ the spokesperson said. ‘Given the strength of our business we have a reduced credit need.’

Staff costs rose 7% to £197,300 amid a 12% increase in fee-earner headcount to 1,738 and a 17% rise in support staff to 957. The average number of equity partners decreased by three to 373.

The total remuneration for firm’s management personnel in the year was up 8% to £4.3m, although the firm’s highest paid partner took home roughly the same as the previous year – £1.083m compared to £1.001m.

Meanwhile, the LLP books for NRF’s EMEA business showed a 5% fall in operating profits to £124.7m amid a slight decrease in turnover.

Speaking to Legal Business, the firm’s chief operating officer Rod Harrington connected the fall to the firm’s decision in 2018 to shift from the April year-end to the US calendar-year end reporting in a move to a more integrated global verein.

‘2018 was the first time we had a December year-end,’ Harrington said. ‘When we got to April, which is our statutory year-end [for the EMEA LLP], anything billed we can record as revenue; whereas any unbilled work can only be partially recognised as accrued income.’

The firm estimated that, like most firms, about 20-25% of its billing tended to be done towards the end of the calendar year and were therefore not fully accounted for in last year’s LLP books.

He also pointed to a 1.8% increase in cost, largely due to a rise in lawyers’ salaries. In October last year, the firm announced a further 9% increase to its NQ basic salary to £87,500 effective in January 2020, with bonuses of up to 30% on top of that.

Overall staff costs at NRF rose 2% to £213.7m in 2018/19 despite the average number of employees growing by just one to 2,232.

marco.cillario@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Warne gets second term as CMS UK senior partner

Penelope Warne (pictured) will remain at the helm of CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang until May 2024 after the partnership confirmed her as senior partner for a second term.

A spokesperson for the firm said the vote by the partnership closed today (24 January) but declined to comment on whether the election was contested.

The energy lawyer became CMS’ first woman chair and senior partner in 2013 and oversaw the firm’s three-way tie-up with Nabarro and Olswang. The largest ever merger in the UK legal market brought the firm’s UK lawyer headcount to nearly 2,000 and made CMS’ international network one of the top 20 firms by revenue globally.

Warne joined the firm in 1993 and set up the firm’s offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Rio de Janeiro and Dubai. She took over from corporate finance partner Dick Tyler shortly after the merger with Scottish firm Dundas & Wilson.

She has implemented a number of initiatives to improve female representation within the firm’s partnership and management, with women now making up 40% of the firm’s board and 30% of its UK partnership.

The firm’s most recent set of financials showed UK revenue up 5% to £545.8m in 2018/19, while the broader CMS international group – spanning more than 70 offices in 40 countries combined together under a European Economic Interest Grouping – reported turnover growth of 5% to €1.36bn in the calendar year 2018. Profit per equity partner at the firm is £574,000.

marco.cillario@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

International round-up: DWF recruits five partners for Düsseldorf as CMS expands in Africa

DWF has made its second post-IPO international office opening, hiring a five-partner team in Germany, while CMS has added two firms in South Africa and Kenya to its network.

DWF said today (7 October) it was opening its fourth German office in Düsseldorf after recruiting the entire office of Marccus Partners, consisting of 10 staff – including five partners. Marccus – which is not listed in any of the recognised legal directories for Germany – specialises in company law, M&A, insolvency, banking and finance, real estate and tax. One of the hires, Norbert Knüppel, will be DWF’s executive partner of the new office.

The opening adds to DWF’s Berlin, Cologne and Munich offices and increases local headcount to more than 80 people. DWF Europe chair, Ulrich Jüngst, commented: ‘They are very highly regarded and will be an excellent addition to our German business, significantly strengthening our corporate practice domestically as well as our ability to advise on cross-border transactions throughout Europe. This move further builds our international footprint, demonstrating continued delivery on this key IPO objective.’

Knüppel added: ‘We were attracted to join DWF’s rapidly growing business with a strong reputation for innovation. It is investing in its national and global capabilities and we look forward to playing our part in DWF’s continued impressive expansion.’

The Düsseldorf opening is DWF’s second international office launch since the firm listed on the London Stock Exchange in March . In May, the firm expanded into Poland with a £3m acquisition of K&L Gates’ 11-partner Warsaw office.

The firm’s first full-year financial results since listing, reported in July, showed revenue rose 15% to £272m in the 2018/19 financial year, of which 12.5% was attributed to organic growth. But profit after tax fell 42% to £12.2m, impacted by the £20m cost of the IPO.

Also today, CMS added 20-lawyer RM Partners in Johannesburg and 35-strong Daly & Inamdar Advocates in Nairobi and Mombasa. The deals mean the firm has passed the 4,800-lawyer mark, counting 75 offices in 43 countries.

CMS is the second international firm to expand in Africa in the space of a few weeks. Last month, Dentons announced it was merging with five firms in Angola, Morocco, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia, adding 54 lawyers to its African footprint.

Hamish.mcnicol@legalbusiness.co.uk

Legal Business

Deal watch: City teams fly on £4.6bn Rolls-Royce pension deal as Kirkland and Goodwin take multi-billion dollar mandates

Big-ticket deals have been fuelling the market in pensions, private equity and fundraising recently with UK top-10 firms and US rivals alike taking the controls on significant mandates.

Legal & General (L&G) handed a joint mandate to CMS and Eversheds Sutherland to advise on its £4.6bn buy-in to buy-out with the Rolls-Royce UK Pension Fund (RRPF), a deal which is billed as the UK’s largest ever bulk annuity and which saw Linklaters act for the trustees.

The pension risk transfer sees the insurer strike its fourth of the five largest deals of this kind in the UK, with the others being British Airways (£4.4bn), ICI (£3bn) and TRW (£2.5bn).

The Eversheds team advising L&G was led by corporate partner Hugo Laing and pensions partner Mark Latimour, alongside CMS partner Thomas Lockley. The Linklaters team was led by global head of pensions Claire Petheram and derivatives partner Mark Brown. The in-house legal team at L&G included Helena Hawthorn, Camilla Curtis and Hannah Kilshaw.

Laing, who also acted for L&G on its £2.4bn buy-out of the Nortel pension scheme and £1.1bn buy-out of the Vickers pension scheme, is optimistic about the market.

‘Volatility in the market can be a good thing for pension deals as it can favourably impact pricing. Insurers buying pension schemes has really boomed in the last few years and the deal values are getting bigger and bigger. The Rolls-Royce deal has shown how big the deals can get and I suspect there will be more of this size to come’, he told Legal Business.

Petheram told Legal Business that the transaction is part of a ‘huge trend’: ‘There is an awful lot of activity in buy-ins where insurers take responsibility for pension liabilities. There has been increased activity in the longevity swap area and that’s only going to ramp up further as corporates look to manage their pension liabilities proactively.’

She added: ‘Insurers represent a gold-standard covenant and there is a willingness on the side of corporates and trustees to lean into these deals. It represents an acceptable position. Trustees have a laser focus on the interests of their members and they can see that deals like this work.’

She expects to see an increase in the number of large-scale transactions over the next 12 months and more innovation in dealing with pension risks.

Kirlkland & Ellis’ City lawyers have also been busy, with the Chicago-bred juggernaut advising investment adviser and repeat customer GLP on the $18.7bn sale of its US logistics business to Blackstone. The firm the same week advised BC Partners-backed United Group on a €220m deal to acquire mobile operator Tele2 Croatia from Tele2 Group.

The GLP deal was co-led by Kirkland corporate partners Michael Steele in London and Michael Brueck in New York, with the team also including real estate partner Kevin Ehrhart in Los Angeles, investment funds partner Kelly Ryan in Chicago and tax partner Mike Beinus in New York.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett advised long-standing client Blackstone out of New York with a team led by real estate partner Davis Coen.

The sale includes logistics properties owned across 3 separate GLP US funds and totals 179 million square feet of urban logistics assets, claiming to be the largest ever private real estate transaction in the States.

London corporate partner David D’Souza led the Kirkland team advising United Group, supported by David Higgins, debt finance partner Neel Sachdev, capital markets partner Matthew Merkle, technology & intellectual property transactions partner Jenny Wilson and tax partners Tim Lowe and Jan Hobbs. The team was also supported by local law firms Divjak Topic Bahtijarevic, Karanovic Partners and Setterwalls.

Tele2 was advised by Schoenherr through its offices in Austria and Croatia, having acted for Tele2 on a number of other disposals in the region. D’Souza said the acquisition will enable United Group to widen the services that it provides and its coverage across Europe.

Having crept largely unnoticed up Legal Business’ Global London table this year, Goodwin Procter’s City office has been making waves, announcing two major fundraisings in the same week.

The Boston-bred firm advised Glennmont Partners on the €850m closing of its Clean Energy Fund III to invest in clean energy infrastructure projects in Europe. The Goodwin team was led by London partners Michael Halford, Alexandrine Armstrong-Cerfontaine and Laura Charkin.

Although led out of New York by partners David Watson and James Donohue, Goodwin also advised Advent International on its $17.5bn fundraise for its ninth global private equity fund GPE IX Limited Partnership.

The fund surpassed its $16bn target after six months in the market while Advent’s previous global fund, GPE VIII, closed on $13bn 2016.Halford and Charkin also advised on the deal out of London.

Halford told Legal Business the Glennmont transaction was a sign of increased interest in renewable energy investments as indicated by the fund’s diversification of investors into the US and Asia. ‘The market is very active and this is a great time to be raising funds. We are expecting more funds activity over the summer.’

Watson said that Goodwin has acted for Advent since its formation in 1984 and has personally advised the private equity house since 1988. He notes an uptick of interest in the ventures space and a migration from its traditional heartlands of California and Boston over to New York.

nathalie.tidman@legalease.co.uk