Corporate
Our highly regarded and experienced team is one of the largest in the Thames Valley. We advise on M&A transactions as well as the full breadth of other corporate matters.
The Corporate team at FSP is fully equipped to advise on all of aspects of corporate law and regularly assists companies, partnerships, entrepreneurs, investors and individuals. Such assistance can vary from a high level review of an individual position under a corporate agreement through to project managing a whole mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transaction process on behalf of a buyer or seller.
Whatever level of advice is required, it will be delivered in line with the FSP Corporate team’s ethos to keep commerciality in mind, offer practical solutions where possible, ensure clients receive a cost-effective service, and tailor advice to individual needs. Their ethos has shined through their work, with the team being praised for being “very responsive” and offering advice “in a very pragmatic and down-to-earth way” whilst being “empathetic and understanding the stresses of a corporate transaction”.
We want to build long-standing relationships with clients because having such relationships enables the team to understand a client’s business and priorities, ensuring the team can provide bespoke advice and give the solution which is right for each individual business. As a result, the team supports businesses throughout their entire lifecycle:
- Start-ups looking for advice on incorporation, business structures, or their first shareholders’ agreement;
- Support established entities with business/share purchases and sales;
- Give guidance on corporate governance and regulatory compliance;
- Advise on venture capital funding;
- Draft shareholder agreement and articles of association; and
- Advise on exit opportunities, such as restructuring, management buy outs and insolvency.
Even after a particular instruction has completed the team will remain alert to opportunities where they can add value, whether that be through making introductions, offering company secretarial services, sharing developments that may be of interest to a client or otherwise, which we are told sets us apart from many of our competitors.
The Corporate team at FSP is highly experienced in advising on a wide array of corporate matters including:
- All elements of a M&A transaction from smaller trade sales through to large sales to publicly listed and private equity backed purchasers
- Corporate governance matters including shareholders’ agreements, articles of association and shareholding changes
- Joint venture and partnership agreements
- Group reorganisations and restructuring
- Management buyouts
- Private equity and venture capital matters
- Restructuring and insolvency matters
- Banking and finance matters
The above list is non-exhaustive, and our advice is provided to businesses across many different sectors as can be seen from our deal announcements.
A few recent deal highlights include:
- Advised James Horseman and Kristina Horseman on the sale of the entire issued share capital of Horseman Coaches Limited, a very well established local private coach hire operator, to The Coach Travel Group a group of companies formed through the strategic merger of Alpine Travel, Barnes Coaches, Coatham Coaches, JH Coaches, Johnsons Coaches, The Ready Group, Swans Travel and Whittles.
- Advised both the founder shareholders and, following the exercise of their share options, minority shareholders on the sale of 100% of Resonate-UCC Holdings Limited (and its subsidiaries both in the UK and abroad) to SCC UK Holdings Limited.
- Advised the shareholders of CMi2i Limited on the sale of the company to the world leader’s financial administration traded as an Australian stock transfer company Computershare. CMi2i, founded in 2013, offers independent, reliable advice to boards, executives, and advisors of some of the world’s largest public companies.
When we are instructed on a corporate transaction, we will create a bespoke multi-disciplinary team calling on experts from other departments in the firm including commercial property, employment and intellectual property. Having this specialist experience under one roof ensures that the transaction progresses quickly and efficiently.
Within the Corporate team there are three sub-teams, Private Equity and Venture Capital, Banking and Finance and Restructuring and Insolvency. We recognise that instructions of these natures require specialist advice and by having these sub-teams we ensure that our clients are quickly directed the correct person to provide pragmatic advice and a bespoke solution. Further detail can be found in the relevant sub-team page linked above.
"My experience with FSP is that they are always diligent, firm but fair and pragmatic, in both their advice and their legal negotiations. The team provided exceptional service levels throughout."
"FSP demonstrated a deep understanding of our business sales and provided clear, commercially focused advice throughout the process. Their attention to detail set them apart."
"Field Seymour Parkes is well resourced with excellent partners and staff who can negotiate and complete a transaction in an efficient and timely manner. They provide an excellent service."
"The firm was responsive, pragmatic and had diverse of knowledge and expertise. The team not only have a keen sense of commercial acumen, but a deep sense of emotional intelligence."
"The team is versatile and practical, and importantly always available, which is critical across time zones."
"The team has a stand-out capacity to deliver continuity, bringing to bear relevant items from a long history of shared projects. Uniquely they tie in all of the other disciplines in the firm to offer consolidated and broad advice, whereas elsewhere you all too often find disjoint between a firm’s different teams."
"The corporate team is particularly strong and is able to confidently advise on complex and sophisticated matters."
"They supported me in a wide range of issues in what for me was a complex transaction, bringing in suitably skilled lawyers for each aspect of complexity."
"The team was always available and acutely aware that it was a complicated and challenging transaction and therefore provided much needed reassurance, guidance and encouragement."
"Great team to work with and takes the time to understand your needs as a client, your aims with respect to the deal and how you like to work."
"We do a fairly high volume of corporate transactions and the team is always able to cope with our workload."
"They're really great, responsive, knowledgeable, and more importantly for me practical and able to communicate well."
"Partner-led service all the way. The Partners are highly visible and hands-on, and demonstrate accountability and responsibility at all times."
"Regularly out-match peers in negotiations and reasoning. Solid skillsets with a practical and commercial approach."
"The corporate team understand the business and what is truly important to the client in the context, consistently adding value as a result."
"The team were well organised and excellent to deal with. They definitely represented us very well and were always there for advice."
"They're not only commercial but they are effective and sound - a well-established, well-drilled, well-organised law firm. It doesn't matter what you go to them for, you know you'll get the same level of quality across all their disciplines."
"The Corporate group at FSP is versatile and responsive – competitive on pricing and delivers on its promises."
"They provide a full range of services and excellent advice."
"We have worked well with FSP for many years and they know what we want, when we want it, and have a good and big enough team to deliver that. They were early to bring in digital signatures and sharing documents has always been easy."
"A very competent and well-run business, FSP has plenty of top-level skill available to advise on all aspects of my company's needs."
Contact us
Complete the form or speak to our Head of Corporate
