Robert Muckle - Corporate team is going from strength to strength

Sep 14 2006 North East Vision

This year the North-East has seen an economic upturn and more confidence in the region's extensive SME market. Not only has there been an increase in corporate activity, but the property market also remains buoyant which means construction and planning are in demand.

"We have had a strong start to the year", says head of commercial group Robert Phillips.

"Robert Muckle now has one of the largest and most experienced corporate finance teams in the region and we have been an automatic choice for a growing number of businesses. Our partners have a wide range of commercial skills, and are leaders in their field.

"We also have a great team supporting us, including our associates, Siobhan McConnell, Alex Craig and Jo Wilkes, who will soon be joined by Craig Swinhoe from Ward Hadaway, and a fantastic team of young commercial lawyers who are developing their careers with Robert Muckle."

Robert Phillips adds: "We have been involved in a wide variety of deals this year, demonstrating the breadth of knowledge and experience within our commercial team.

The £31m sale of Bowey Homes to McInerney Holdings was one of the most successful deals we have worked on recently, continuing our long and successful association with the Bowey family.

A feature of the deal was the way Robert Muckle's corporate legal team of Nicola Loose, Philip Clare and Jennifer Swansey, impressed KPMG Leeds who were also working on the deal."

Robert Muckle is also winning work from out of the region, demonstrating that it's recognised not only in its own marketplace, but also that its skills and the way in which it delivers its services can compete successfully with larger national firms.

This was endorsed by a recent transaction with South-East based MSB International plc. The public company takeover, by means of a court-approved scheme of arrangement, was led by commercial partner Andrew Davison, with Peter Robinson, Philip Clare and Navneet Jagpal forming the commercial team, working with Kevin Turnbull from the commercial dispute resolution team handling the court procedures.

Andrew Davison said: "This transaction was particularly interesting to work on as company takeovers of this type rarely happen in the North-East. It required a blend of skills and expertise (including corporate finance, takeover code and court procedures) and the team at Robert Muckle rose to the challenge."

Ian Ketchin, MSB International finance director said: "Throughout our transaction, commercial partner Andrew Davison has demonstrated knowledge and understanding of the rules and how to apply them, and deployed whatever resource has been required to get the job done.

"In addition, the team's professionalism, enthusiasm and service has been excellent. I would have no hesitation in recommending Robert Muckle's corporate team for public company work."

Some other deals the corporate team have recently been involved in include the seven-figure sale of North-East based care home operator Hadrian Healthcare to Midland based Avery Health, a complicated share acquisition for Chester-le-Street based Tor Coatings Limited and a management buy out of Leeds based Just Trays Limited, a manufacturer of shower trays.

The sale of Huddersfield based Taylor & Whiteley to VTL Holdings again demonstrates their experience of working with longstanding clients.

Bruno Jouan, VTL Group managing director, said: "I have always liked working with Robert Phillips. You have got to have trust in your lawyer and I knew he was going to look after me. He knows me and what I'm doing and what I'm trying to build.

"It's very important for me that my lawyers are people who care about my business and that's what I have in the Robert Muckle team."

Apart from deals, there has also been a greater recognition of intellectual property and technology and its worth to a business, keeping Robert Muckle's technology lawyers in demand.

This awareness will be raised even further as the North-East gears up to host the first national design promotion - DOTT07.

Robert Muckle's intellectual property and technology team has been confirmed as one of the firms on DOTT07's (designs of the times) legal services panel.

Andrew Davison concludes, "Later this year there will be important changes in legislation in employment and company law. We will be working closely with our clients to ensure that they are kept informed about and understand the new responsibilities they will face with these changes."