Property
Stones Porter advised Green Property in a joint venture with GE Capital, advised by Nabarro Nathanson, for the acquisition of a £32million portfolio of industrial properties from Standard Life, advised by Herbert Smith.
Financings
Ashurst Morris Crisp acted as supervisory counsel for Union Bank of Switzerland as senior debt arranger and underwriter in a Dutch-based leveraged buy-out in the electrical goods industry. The debt totalled 125 million guilders. UBS was advised by Leoff Claeys Verbeke on all Dutch matters.
Property
DJ Freeman acted for property developer Argent Group in a £350 million project. The firm advised on corporate, property and banking aspects of a joint venture, Argent Development.
Scott casts 'no doubt on my integrity' says Lyell
Lawyers have featured prominently in Sir Richard Scott’s report on arms to Iraq. The Government’s top lawyer, Attorney General Sir Nicholas Lyell, faces daily calls for his resignation as a result of his role in the Matrix Churchill trial. Scott criticises Lyell for advising Ministers they had a duty to sign Public Interest Immunity Certificates […]
End compensation ceiling, says report
THE LIMIT on unfair dismissal compensation should be scrapped, according to a report by the Employment Lawyers Association (ELA). The Government is carrying out its annual review of the limit of unfair dismissal compensatory awards (currently £11,300) and the limit of a week’s pay for calculating redundancy payments (currently £210). The ELA claims that limits […]
In brief: Conference to debate women's rights
Womens’ rights around the world will be the subject of a British Council/Warwick University conference on 26-28 February in Stratford-upon-Avon. A follow up to the Bejing Declaration on Women’s Rights, the conference will take further the debate that the law and legal strategies can play a part in promoting womens’ rights and inclusion within society. […]
In brief: Hammond Suddards
Richard Burns is the head of corporate finance at Hammond Suddards, not Christoper Arnheim as reported on 6 February issue.
East European first
Baker & Mckenzie advised on the first ever takeover of a listed company in Central and Eastern Europe last week. The firm advised US Pharmaceuticals giant, Bristol-Myers Squibb on the US$110 million takeover of Pharmavit, a pharmaceutical company listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange. The offer involved an innovative simultaneous domestic offer to Hungarian shareholders […]
Bogan loses constituency base after firm splits
A KEY supporter of Law Society president Martin Mears is no longer practising in the Law Society constituency which elected him to the council thanks to his firm’s demerger. Anthony Bogan, who ousted the leading Chancery Lane establishment figure Paul Marsh from the council during last year’s elections, has confirmed the demerger of the Richmond […]
Merger of US firms paves way for 'largest' health law practice
TOP 30 US law firm Foley & Lardner and Californian practice Weissburg & Aronson have merged to create one of the largest firms in the US. Foley & Lardner, one of the oldest firms in the US, was ranked 27th by International Financial Law Review magazine in its 1995 listing of the top 30 firms […]
In brief: London firm to handle Warner theme park
London firm Olswang is acting for US film production and distribution company Warner Bros in the controversial £225 million joint investment with UK media group MAI to build a film and television studio, and theme park, in Green Belt land in West London. Senior partner Simon Olswang and corporate group partner Adrian Bott are handling […]
Inn with the in-crowd
What do Gazza and Terry Venables, Asil Nadir and the Maxwell brothers, George Michael and Pavarotti have in common? They have all litigated in the Chancery Division. This is the introduction to the booklet produced by the Chancery Bar Association (CBA) in conjunction with the Northern Chancery Bar Association and the Bristol and Cardiff Bar […]