Partner Article

Law firm buck economic trend with valuable deals

Commercial law firm Muckle LLP have dismissed last year’s forecast retrenchment and downturn in the region by facilitating a healthy amount of deals.

The Corporate Finance Team have recently announced deal statistics for the 2011 calendar year, which reveal mid market private equity became much more active in the region.

At the same time, the firm also sat overseas businesses with strong exchange rates looking to acquire quality UK businesses where perceived value could be obtained.

In 2011 Muckle completed 112 corporate transactions worth more than £420m in total, following the strategy of supporting a wide range of businesses, largely North East owner-managed businesses, but also overseas and national corporates.

Muckle LLP’s head of the Corporate Finance team, Robert Phillips, said: “Although the market is tough, business owners are actively seeking opportunities to expand and defend their markets.

“North east jobs are being created and secured in many of these deals.

“We too have expanded our team by attracting experienced lawyers to provide clients with unrivalled expertise, service and expertise.”

Nearly half of the deals were valued at over £500,000, reinforcing statistics released by Experian’s CorpFin, in which Muckle LLP was ranked top of the league table in respect of deal volume in the North East for the last three years.

Among the 2011 deals was the £5m sale of Sunderland-based Onyx Research Chemicals Ltd to Indian firm Ipca Laboratories Ltd, where the team worked closely with Onyx Scientific CEO Tony Flinn and his co-shareholders.

Muckle also helped Newcastle-based Moneygate Group Ltd to open a strategic gateway in London, with the acquisition of City-based Equus Independent Financial Management Ltd; and advised the management team at Northumbrian Fine Food when they decided to buy-out the company.

David Sillars, Managing Director of Northumbrian Fine Foods, said: “The deal was unlike anything we have experienced so we are grateful to everyone in the team at Muckle LLP for their advice and support.

“We are very impressed with the comprehensive help and service we received from them.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .