Mincoffs Solicitors’ corporate team has enjoyed double award success recently. The firm was delighted to be named Corporate Law Team of the Year at the Northern Law Awards ceremony on Thursday, June 8, at the Newcastle Gateshead Hilton.
Mincoffs’ corporate team was also recently recognised in the 10th Annual International M&A Advisor Awards, in which they received the ‘Industrials Deal of the Year’ award for their involvement in the sale of Sheffield-based Cooper & Turner to the US-based investment firm the Watermill Group.
During 2017, the corporate team at Mincoffs delivered 56 transactions for their clients, with an aggregate deal value of circa £400m.
This followed on from a terrific year in 2016, during which the team delivered 43 transactions, with an aggregate value of £380m.
As Peter Robinson, partner in the corporate team, explained: “We have exceptionally long-standing and very strong client relationships. That comes from providing services which are second to none. We’re not trying to be the biggest player in our region, although we are trying to be the best we can be when delivering our services.”
Corporate head Paul Hughes added: “Our team has gone from strength to strength. We advise businesses in the region, nationally and internationally. We differentiate ourselves on our service levels and by building long-standing relationships.
“At a time of mass mergers in the legal sector, it is important to understand that it is always human relationships that make the difference.”
Whilst smaller in size than some corporate teams in the North East, the team – comprising six lawyers, including three partners – has a huge amount of experience. Indeed, the team was ranked as second most active adviser on North East transactions by information services giant Experian for 2017. Some of the deals the team worked on in 2017 include:
Private equity investment into engineering consultancy practice Parsons Group and a related acquisition;
Extensions to the Cairn Groups’ banking facilities and related transactions;
Disposal of the entire issued share capital of Ashchem, the largest independent pharmacy chain in the North at that time;
Disposal of the Litterboss group, a provider of ground clearance and similar services, to Ground Control (an industry consolidator)
Lugano Group’s mezzanine finance arrangements with Matterhorn Capital and Topland Jupiter.
The M&A International Award has also come as a welcome surprise to the team.
Mr Robinson said: “With the success we had over the last two years we were really keen to try and get recognition for all our team, and not just corporate so it was fantastic to win the Corporate Team of the Year Award.
“The International M&A Award was something else entirely: it came totally out of left field as it wasn’t something we had submitted or campaigned for. Yet the deal has been recognised by our peers in the USA as the deal of the year in the ‘Industrials’ sector, which is simply terrific”.
Mincoffs Solicitors LLP has been advising businesses and their people for 70 years, and is one of the North East’s oldest commercial law firms. Its aim is to provide the best service it can to all its clients and to add value by becoming part of their team.
For further information on how Mincoffs can help you, contact Claire Fenwick, marketing and business development manager on 0191 281 6151 or visit www.mincoffs.co.uk.
