TLT has advised Conviviality Plc, the drinks and impulse sector's leading independent distributor and owner of Bargain Booze, on its acquisition of the Central Convenience business previously owned by subsidiary of Palmer & Harvey McLane, WS Retail Ltd (in administration).

The offer, which was accepted on 15 December and includes the purchase of 109 owned convenience stores and 18 franchised stores, was funded by a placing of eight million new ordinary shares that are expected to be admitted to trading on AIM on 19 December 2017.

TLT advised the AIM-listed company on the acquisition, licensing, real estate, restructuring and placing aspects of the transaction.

The multi-disciplinary team, with its extensive retail sector expertise, consulted on the terms of the acquisition agreement and advised on the licensing and real estate implications of acquiring this significant portfolio of high street trade outlets.

TLT's equity capital markets lawyers also advised on the placing of the new ordinary shares and the deal was constructed and completed end-to-end in just seven days.

The TLT team was led by corporate team leader John Wood, with support from equity capital markets partner Stephen Devlin and legal director Liz Delaney, restructuring partner Peter Carney and associate Tom Ward, licensing partner Matthew Phipps and legal director Andrew Griffin and property legal director James D Webb.

Ciaran Stone, group head of legal and company secretary at Conviviality Plc, says: "We are very grateful to TLT for their hard work and advice on this transaction. The team worked well together, bringing together all the sector and service specialisms we needed to see this through and complete in a short space of time."

John Wood, partner and national head of corporate at TLT, says: "There is a considerable amount of transactional activity in the retail sector, as businesses respond to pressures and opportunities in the market. These deals can be particularly complex, given the assets involved and the speed at which the market moves. With deep retail sector knowledge and the scale of service line expertise in corporate, restructuring, equity capital markets and licensing across our national teams, TLT was able to quickly apply significant expert advisory resource to deliver for Conviviality. Conviviality is a strong, acquisitive business and we are delighted to have been a part of this exciting new step they have taken."