Eversheds Sutherland corporate head Richard Moulton cannot remember a busier December than in 2017 and believes the January deal market is already gathering pace.
As the transatlantic tie-up marked a year since going live this month, the firm has enjoyed a robust start to 2018. On 4 January, Eversheds advised as British retailer Poundland secured a £180m loan to reduce its reliance on its South African owner Steinhoff International, under investigation following accounting irregularities estimated at £7bn.
The two-year loan was arranged by Steinhoff-owned Pepkor, the European owner of Poundland, from US investment house Davidson Kempner Capital Management.
Eversheds acted for the Steinhoff UK group in a team led by partner Carl Allen.
DWF and Simmons & Simmons acted for Pepkor (the Pepkor and Poundland brands), while Linklaters advised the international-level Steinhoff companies.
Later in the month, Eversheds advised Spanish low-cost gym business Viva Gym on its acquisition of Portugal’s Fitness Hut for an undisclosed sum. The deal created the biggest group in the Iberian region, with combined revenues of €50m across 48 sites.
Eversheds was led by London corporate partner Louise Finnie, supported by partners Patrick Davis and Ben Jones, as well as Carlos Pemán, who advised on the Spanish aspects of the deal. Relationship firm FCB advised in Portugal.
Also in January, an Eversheds team, led by Alistair Cree and Jason Wurzal advised Moneypenny owner TDKP, a new client, on its acquisition of MadeSimple for an undisclosed sum.
These deals follow a brisk end to 2017 at the firm, highlighted by advising Royal Dutch Shell on its move into the UK residential energy market in December, with an agreement to buy First Utility, advised by Slaughter and May.
The same day, the firm announced it was advising US data centre real estate investment trust CyrusOne, alongside Sullivan & Cromwell, on the European aspects of its deal to acquire European data centre provider Zenium Technology Partners for $442m.