Market Standards Trend Report

Rona heads Addleshaw Goddard's competition team and regularly advises UK and international clients on the full range of competition law and national security matters. She is recognised as a leading practitioner in her field.

Tom is a Senior Partner in Hogan Lovells' London Corporate & Finance practice group. He is ranked in Chambers Global for Corporate/M&A, with his expertise in international and cross-border M&A highlighted in particular. He has experience across a wide variety of work including public and private M&A, joint ventures, restructurings, private equity and equity capital markets. Whilst Tom is a generalist M&A practitioner, he regularly acts for clients in the Life Sciences and Technology, Media & Telecoms sectors. Tom is based in London but has also practiced in both Dubai and Hong Kong.

Nicola is a Senior Partner in the London Corporate & Finance practice of Hogan Lovells. Nicola’s broad experience is international and extends to corporate transactions, domestic and cross-border M&A, joint ventures, the Takeover Code, disclosure and governance issues, securities law and the Listing Rules as well as secondary capital raising and restructurings. Nicola is leader of Hogan Lovells’ Insurance Sector, the first woman in the firm to be appointed to this role.

Iain advises London listed and international companies on their most significant issues including public and private M&A, corporate restructurings and public offerings. He has acted as lead counsel to clients on many of the market’s most significant public company transactions in a career of over 30 years, including hostile public offers and many large and complex demergers. As well as an in depth knowledge of the UK public offer regime, Iain’s experience includes public transactions in all European jurisdictions, North America, the Middle East and Asia. Iain also regularly advises the boards of a number of London listed companies on strategic and governance issues and has considerable experience in activist as well as defence situations. Clients report that they ‘benefit from his insight and ability to take a view on topics as they come up’ and that ‘his gravitas and experience give us confidence.’ Iain’s expertise spans many sectors.

James is a Partner in Ashurst's corporate practice. He specialises in public and private M&A, equity capital markets transactions, and corporate governance work.

Jonathan is a Partner in Linklaters' antitrust & foreign investment group and has over a decade of experience working on a broad range of EU & UK competition law issues. Jonathan has particular specialism in complex UK mergers, having spent six months on secondment to the CMA, gaining valuable knowledge of top level decision makers and internal processes. He has experience across a range of sectors but is a particular expert in pharma, fintech & tech markets as well as having deep regulatory expertise, advising in relation to the price controls (and appeals) in the water and gas distribution sectors. Jonathan advised Quantile on the acquisition by the London Stock Exchange group, which included a rare CMA UK Phase 2 unconditional clearance, Vistry plc on its merger with Countryside plc as well as advising Press Association Holdings in relation to the sale of the Telegraph and the Spectator. Clients have described him as ‘very responsive and a pleasure to work with – a very strong talent’.

Matthew is a partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group of Paul, Weiss. Matthew advises clients on sophisticated domestic and cross-border corporate transactions, with a focus on public takeovers across a broad range of industries. Matthew’s public takeovers practice encompasses representing both bidders and target companies, including international and UK entities, in recommended, hostile and competitive situations. He also co-manages the firm’s UK Public M&A practice and is a member of the City of London Law Society’s Takeovers Working Group. Matthew is recognised as an 'Up and Coming' Partner and Notable Practitioner for Corporate/M&A: 800m+ by Chambers UK 2025, and a Key Lawyer in UK Legal 500 2024 for M&A: Upper Mid-Market and Premium Deals. Matt is lauded for his technical expertise, ability to guide clients through difficult issues, detailed approach and dedication.

David is a partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group of Paul, Weiss, who advises on take-private and complex private equity and transactions. Some of his sponsor clients have included TDR Capital, Blackstone, Thoma Bravo, I Squared Capital, Advent International and TA Associates. Prior to joining Paul, Weiss, David served as partner and general counsel at TDR Capital, where he was deeply involved in all aspects of the business, developing a unique understanding of the day-to-day operations of a multibillion-dollar asset manager. Prior to this, he was a senior corporate partner in private practice with deep experience in private equity and sponsor backed public M&A. David has been recognized as a leading lawyer in Chambers UK and as 'Highly Regarded' by IFLR1000. 

Jade is a Senior Adviser in Ashurst's corporate practice. She is an experienced corporate financier who supports Ashurst's corporate team providing specialist public company advice. Jade has extensive public company offer experience and was seconded to the UK Takeover Panel from 2011 to 2013.

Nicole is Global Co-Chair of Paul, Weiss’ Antitrust Practice. She has led on over 40 significant merger and competition investigations in her over 20 years of European competition experience. She has extensive experience in advising on a wide range of regulatory and competition law issues in addition to maintaining a busy investigations and litigation practice. She has expertise in antitrust and regulatory issues spanning tech, financial services, retail, mining and healthcare sectors. Nicole was specialist adviser on foreign investment screening to both the Department for Business and Trade National Security Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the UK Parliament . Nicole is ranked in Tier 1 of Chambers and peers and clients alike hold her in high regard as a top regulatory lawyer. She attracts particular attention for her work on high-profile Phase II domestic merger control investigations. Clients describe her as having ‘her finger on the pulse in terms of what is going on in the competition law world,’ being ‘to the point, really on it and very good with clients’.

Tom is the Head of Public Company EMEA at Ashurst. He advises on a range of M&A, corporate finance and governance matters with particular expertise in public company takeovers and mergers. He was secretary to the UK Takeover Panel from 2011 to 2013 and head of Ashurst's corporate transactions practice in London from 2016 to 2018.

Max has a broad corporate practice, with a particular focus on advising on UK public takeovers, and between 2020-2022 he was seconded to the UK Takeover Panel. In addition to his focus on public M&A, Max advises clients on a wide variety of transactions, including equity capital markets, private M&A and group reorganisations. He has experience advising on large and complex work, as well as acting on mid-market mandates, and he operates across a range of sectors. Max has previously undertaken secondments at an investment bank and a leading French law firm.

Nick is a Partner in Bird & Bird’s international corporate group, based in London. He has more than 20 years’ experience advising on a range of corporate finance transactions including takeovers, private M&A, joint ventures and equity capital markets, as well as on ESG challenges and opportunities. Nick has previously been based in Abu Dhabi and New York and acts for a broad international mix of US, European and Gulf-based corporates and private equity, as well as FTSE clients. He covers a range of sectors, with a particular focus on technology and consumer. He has spent time on secondment with a range of investment banks and investors including Goldman Sachs, Macquarie and Morgan Stanley. He has been a regular commentator in the media, including on CNBC and in The Financial Times.

Guy is a Partner in White & Case's global M&A and Corporate practice based in London. With more than 25 years of experience, he advises both listed and private companies on acquisitions, equity capital raisings, joint ventures and minority equity investments. He advises companies across a variety of industry sectors, particularly in the fintech and technology sectors; as well as securities laws (including the Market Abuse Regulation, Listing Rules, the UK Takeover Code and various corporate governance codes).

Lucy is a Partner in Addleshaw Goddard's corporate finance team, specialising in public M&A and advising Main Market and AIM listed companies on their key strategic transactions. Lucy acts for a wide range of UK and overseas bidders and targets, as well as financial advisers.

Tom advises on all aspects of corporate transactions, specialising in complex cross-border M&A. His practice encompasses public and private acquisitions and disposals, carve-outs, private capital, ECM situations and advisory mandates. Tom is recognised in Chambers & Partners and in The Legal 500 for UK premium public and private M&A.

Patrick is a Partner in White & Case's global M&A and Corporate practice team based in London and leads their UK Public M&A practice. He has almost 30 years' experience advising clients on corporate finance, domestic, and cross-border public company M&A (with extensive experience in competitive and hostile situations), innovative structuring, the Takeover Code, disclosure issues, securities law and the Listing Rules, as well as secondary issues and capital restructuring. In recent years, he has developed a strong 'activism' practice, advising both companies and activist shareholders on strategic, ESG and M&A-related campaigns and disputes.

Dan is a partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group of Paul, Weiss and head of its European Public M&A practice. Dan advises on a variety of public and private M&A and equity capital market transactions, including carveouts, spin-offs, joint ventures, IPOs, secondary capital raises and corporate restructurings. Dan has extensive cross-border transaction expertise, advising both corporate and private equity clients on projects across Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. Dan’s strategic approach and deep industry knowledge, particularly in the insurance and wider financial services sectors, make him a trusted advisor to clients undertaking their most critical and challenging transactions. He is recognized by Chambers UK in Insurance: Non-contentious and The Legal 500 UK as a Leading Individual for M&A: Upper Mid-Market and Premium Deals and Insurance: Corporate and Regulatory.

Daniel is a Senior Partner in the London Corporate & Finance practice at Hogan Lovells and was recently named in The Lawyer’s 'Hot 100' list of top lawyers working in the UK. He focuses his practice on corporate finance transactions, in particular on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets. Daniel also has particular focus on public M&A transactions, including P2Ps, and he has advised numerous companies, private equity houses and financial institutions in the context of these transactions.

Allan Taylor is a Partner in our global M&A and Corporate practice based in London and Co-Head of the EMEA Corporate practice. Allan specialises in complex international transactions and has extensive experience leading cross-border, multi-disciplinary teams to deliver innovative solutions tailored to clients’ business needs. He advises public and private companies, financial institutions, and international clients across a range of matters including mergers and acquisitions, equity capital markets, joint ventures, restructurings, and UK corporate governance. Allan has particular expertise in the natural resources sector, including oil and gas, mining, and metals, and regularly advises issuers and underwriters on IPOs and dual listings.

Dan Tierney is a partner in the London office of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. He has a broad M&A and corporate finance practice covering public and private M&A transactions for a range of corporate, private capital, and investment banking clients. He also advises on shareholder activism and corporate governance, reporting and disclosure matters. He is ranked as an Up and Coming partner for high-end corporate/M&A in Chambers UK and Europe.

Sonica is a Partner in White & Case’s global M&A and Corporate practice based in London. Sonica has extensive experience in advising corporate clients, private equity, hedge funds and investment banks on international public M&A transactions, primary and secondary equity raisings and sell-downs, and listed company advisory and corporate governance matters. Sonica has particular expertise in UK Public M&A transactions.

Simon is a corporate finance Partner at Addleshaw Goddard and advises listed companies on the full range of corporate finance transactions. He has particular expertise in public M&A, having previously spent a two-year secondment as Secretary to the Takeover Panel.

Di is a Partner in White & Cases's global M&A and Corporate practice, based in London. Di has extensive experience advising corporates and financial sponsors on a wide range of corporate and M&A transactions, including public and private M&A, joint ventures, complex corporate reorganisations, primary and secondary raisings and general corporate advisory matters. Di has particular expertise in the technology, media and entertainment, financial institutions, consumer retail, infrastructure and energy transition sectors.