Ward Hadaway named as region's top corporate dealmaker

Data published by Experian MarketIQ, which tracks M&A deals valued at more than £500k at regional and national level, has found Ward Hadaway to be the region’s busiest legal adviser in 2018.

The firm’s corporate team advised on 56 deals in 2018 in the North East with a combined deal value of £177m (based on the deal values the firm is able to publicise).

The past year has seen the team advising on various projects.

Robert Thompson, who heads up the 30-strong corporate team, said: “We are extremely pleased to see Ward Hadaway has come out on top as the busiest law firm buying, selling and fund raising for businesses across the North East.

“We work with businesses of all sizes and across many different sectors and so we are really grateful to our clients for continuing to trust us with their transactions, and to our fellow professional advisers who continue to recommend us to their clients.

“We have a really good spread of work. So as a firm we worked on more than 21 acquisitions, 15 disposals, 21 companies raising development capital, and three MBOs, as well as other corporate transactions. It is the variety of work we do that helps us to stand out.

“Some thought the deals market would fall off a cliff in the two years leading up to Brexit, but that hasn’t happened. There has still been a vibrant corporate scene driven by some great local businesses.”

Ward Hadaway’s 13 specialist corporate partners are supported by lawyers throughout the firm.

The range of transactions the team has advised on remains extensive and includes sales, acquisitions, private equity fund raising and refinancing work across all sectors, from waste and recycling to life sciences, from manufacturing to recruitment.