Bond Dickinson's Corporate team continues to be the go-to firm for the region's key deals and were delighted to pick up the Deal of the Year award for its work on the Science Central Joint Venture at last night's North East Insider Dealmaker awards.
The team, led by Iain Pritty, advised on the Science Central deal, helping secure private sector investment from Legal & General to establish Newcastle's £350m flagship regeneration project to create a global centre for urban innovation. The deal was structured as joint venture partnership between the three members, Newcastle City Council, Newcastle University and Legal and General Capital.
This is the second year running that the team have won the Deal of the Year Award. Last year they were awarded for their work on Atom Bank's successful £135m fundraising and launch as the UK's first digital bank. Bond Dickinson was the exclusive legal adviser and recognised by the judges for working on a stand-out deal which firmly places the North East on the fintech map.
The team continues to go from strength to strength. In the past year they have advised on numerous deals across the region including the NorthEdge Capital investment in Clearly Drinks Limited, the successful sale of chemicals manufacturer Chemoxy International Limited, a further £85m fundraising for Atom Bank, the MBO of Indigo Software, NVM's investment in AVID Technology Group and most recently the $454million IPO of Teesside based Venator Materials plc.
The team has also recently welcomed Oliver Rickett, Gemma Bourne and David Ridley, as the latest additions to the team.
Ben Butler, Corporate Partner at Bond Dickinson said: "It is great that the team has received this recognition for their work and to see that, more widely, the North East continues to have a dynamic deals market. These recent deals show that there continues to be significant capital available for investment in the region for the right opportunities. Bond Dickinson is a really exciting place to be right now and this award reinforces our position as the go-to firm for the region's key deals."
Bond Dickinson has also announced it is combining with its US alliance partner Womble Bond Dickinson, effective from 1 November 2017. The combination will create a new breed of transatlantic law firm focused on bringing its clients richer opportunities through deeper industry knowledge and transatlantic capability and reach.