Napthens advises on more than £200m of transactions in less than six months

Leading North West law firm Napthens has reached a significant milestone, as it has advised on transactions valued collectively at £210m in the first half of 2021, already eclipsing its total for the full 2020 year.

Altogether, its corporate team advised on 24 transactions that completed in the period January – June 2021, compared to 32 transactions across the whole of 2020 and 28 transactions in 2019.

Landmark disclosable deals include the acquisition of vaping manufacturer and retailer Vapouriz by Darwen-based e-liquid manufacturer Flavour Warehouse, disposal of national roofing merchant Rinus Roofing Supplies to Cupa Group, and disposal of Fylde Coast-located Builders Supplies (West Coast) to Huws Gray.

In a busy period for transactions in the leisure sector, Napthens advised on a host of regional deals, that included disposal of Cumbria-based manufacturer Retreat Homes & Lodges to ABI Group, sale of The Waterhead, Ambleside, and re-establishment of The Three Fishes pub in Mitton by celebrity chef Nigel Haworth.

Elsewhere, the team advised on specialist maintenance company Restek’s transition to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), with managing director and founder Tim Knight placing the business into the hands of its 14 permanent team members.

Keith Melling, partner and head of corporate at Napthens, said: “The deals market has changed considerably since the slowdown in Spring 2020, with many buyers seeing this as a window of opportunity. They are taking advantage of record low interest rates, pent up funds that were not released in 2020 and many business owners are also looking to beat the clock on a possible capital gains tax rise expected in the near future.

“Thanks to the strong reputation of our team’s expertise across the North West and beyond, we’ve seen impressive growth through a difficult period. We have been brought on-board to advise on larger and more complex transactions, many of them upwards of £30 million in value, and have built stronger relationships with our clients in what was a very unpredictable time. As a result, we’re now seeing the fruits of our labour.”

Richard Robinson, partner on the corporate team at Napthens, said: “We’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the UK’s best-known brands over the past few years and the calibre of deals we are advising on has continued to rise. We champion a partner-led approach on every single transaction we are involved with, and our clients truly appreciate our level of attention to detail, allowing them to confidently pursue the best deal for all parties.

“It’s been a fantastic year to date and with further completions anticipated in the coming months, it’s a really exciting time to be a part of this hugely-talented Napthens team.”