• February 28, 2007 |

    Scots govt review set to slash adviser roster

    Firms are vying to secure Government panel appointments as news emerges that the Scottish Executive is reviewing its advisers, while the UK Government's centralised legal review has been delayed due to unprecedented demand. The Scottish Executive, the executive arm of the Scottish Parliament, is midway through a review and is understood to be intent on stripping back the existing 12-strong roster to just six firms.

    1 minute read

  • February 28, 2007 |

    Energy giant unveils eight-strong UK adviser line-up

    French utility company Veolia Environnement has put the finishing touches to its review of UK advisers, appointing eight firms to the panel. Corporate adviser Lovells has been retained, while existing advisers Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, Pinsent Masons and Simmons & Simmons also secured places on the roster.

    1 minute read

  • February 28, 2007 |

    Pinsents hires duo for London property team

    Pinsent Masons has hired a brace of senior real estate lawyers for its London arm. Urban regeneration specialist Jacqueline Harkin joins the firm as a partner from national rival Eversheds, where she was a senior associate. Lena Sentongo has also joined Pinsents' London arm as a senior property associate from City practice Manches. In addition, Pamela Young has been installed as Pinsents' new head of property in Manchester.

    1 minute read

  • February 28, 2007 |

    Norton Rose beats Ashurst to head Hemscott corporate adviser league

    Norton Rose has topped rankings of corporate advisers, taking over from Ashurst as the firm with the most quoted UK clients. Hemscott's quarterly corporate adviser rankings show Norton Rose in pole position with 120 stock market clients, Slaughter and May in second with 113 quoted clients, Ashurst and Eversheds in equal third place with 110 clients and Pinsent Masons in fifth place with 97 clients.

    1 minute read

  • February 28, 2007 |

    Deals: M&A 01/03/2007

    Addleshaw Goddard has advised Barclays Private Equity on the sale of clothing retailer Phase Eight valuing the company at £51.5m. Corporate partner Simon Pilling led the team. Phase Eight has been acquired by an investor consortium composed of management, Kaupthing Principal Investments, the Tchenguiz Family Trust and retail investors Michael Rahamim, Saj Shah and Ian Findlay. Eversheds advised the investor consortium and Pinsent Masons advised management.

    1 minute read

  • February 28, 2007 |

    Letter 's' goes missing in Nabarros re-brand

    Nabarro Nathanson has re-branded as 'Nabarro', following an image re-vamp. The firm announced today (28 February) that it is now trading as Nabarro following a re-branding exercise that has resulted in a new logo based on repetition of the letter 'N' and an improved website, which can be found at nabarro.com.

    1 minute read

  • February 21, 2007 |

    War for talent pushes retention rates past 90%

    The UK's top firms are keeping a tight grip on their trainees, with most City firms set to retain more than 90% of their intake during the next month as the battle for talent rages on. Major UK firms including Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters, Slaughter and May, Herbert Smith, Lovells and Ashurst are taking on at least 90% of their trainees in the coming intake in March.

    1 minute read

  • February 21, 2007 |

    Pinsents review aims to boost US referrals

    Pinsent Masons is set to review its US strategy in a move that will put its current alliance with Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner under the spotlight. Pinsents international operations partner Tony Bunch is heading up a working group that will draw up plans in the coming months for the firm's US strategy.

    1 minute read

  • February 21, 2007 |

    Scots elite gear up for £1bn Firth of Forth mega project

    Advisers on both sides of the border have begun jostling for position after the Scottish Executive last week announced it was to press ahead with controversial plans for a new £1bn crossing over the Firth of Forth. The project promises to be one of the biggest ever in the Scottish market and a raft of major firms have put themselves in the frame to win mandates when details of the scheme are finalised this summer.

    1 minute read

  • February 21, 2007 |

    Deals: Finance 22/02/2007

    Pinsent Masons has advised a club of arranging banks, Lloyds TSB, HSBC and Icelandic bank Glitnir Banki HF, on the £45m refinancing of the fruit and snack specialists The Whitworths Group. The team at Pinsents was led by banking partners William Oliver and Martin Bishop. European Capital, which acquired the Whitworths Group in November last year, retains £14m of mezzanine debt. It was advised by Weil Gotshal & Manges banking associate Faisal Ramzan.

    1 minute read