Contributors
WBD's Bristol office has been recognised for its strong corporate expertise at the Insider South West Dealmakers Awards 2020 where it was nominated for three awards.
The firm has been shortlisted for Corporate Law Firm of the Year following a period of significant growth in deal activity in specialist areas like insurance, energy and private equity including four major M&A transactions in the South West. Two deals the firm advised on were also nominated for Large Deal of the Year (above £10m) including the MBO of Acquis Insurance Management and the sale of Clevedon-based Create Flavours.
In May last year, WBD advised Dunedin, the UK mid-market private equity house, on its management buyout of Acquis Insurance Management, an independent insurance broker based in Newport, Wales. And, in April 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdown, WBD acted on the sale of Create Flavours to Nactarome, an Italian private-equity backed company which aims to be a European leader in natural ingredients for the food and beverage sector.
Simon Hewes, corporate partner at WBD commented:
"These nominations highlight a very successful year for our Bristol team and demonstrate our commitment to the region and the exciting and fast-growing South West businesses we work with. The awards are a tribute to the whole team and to the outstanding work everyone has put in, especially in the past few months of lockdown, which presented a number of challenges in deal activity across the legal sector, but those were overcome with a combination of confidence, trust and innovation."
Ranking in the UK's top 20 law firms, WBD advises businesses on a range of matters, supporting clients with their regional, national and international growth strategies. The Bristol team is led by well-known partners Simon Hewes and Tom Fitzpatrick supported by managing associates Sammy Hill and Alex Fergus. Over the past couple of years, the headcount of the Bristol corporate finance team has increased by 50%. The firm is ranked highly for its Corporate/M&A capabilities in legal directories Chambers UK and Legal 500.
