Global, sector-focused law firm HFW has boosted its market-leading shipping practice with the hire of senior partner Nick Fisher.

Nick has more than 25 years' experience in commercial shipping litigation, international trade and insurance. He will join HFW's London office on 1 May 2018 from Fishers Solicitors, the sole-practitioner boutique he founded in 1993. He was previously an equity partner at Richards Butler (now Reed Smith) and also founded specialist shipping law firm More Fisher Brown.

International law firm Ashurst announces the appointment of Thomas Picton as a securitisation partner in the London securities and derivatives group.

Thomas joins from Clifford Chance, where he has been since 2006. With over 10 years’ securitisation experience, Thomas' practice covers a wide array of asset classes with a key focus on the consumer sector. His experience covers domestic and international transactions for clients that include banks, mortgage lenders, auto finance companies, asset managers and private equity firms.

DLA Piper represented Urbaser S.A. in relation to their successful acquisition of RenoNorden AB and RenoNorden Oy from the bankruptcy estate of RenoNorden ASA.

Eversheds Sutherland advises on £130m flotation

Eversheds Sutherland has advised long-standing client SimplyBiz, a business support company, on its IPO to AIM with an initial market capitalisation of £130m.

The IPO raised £30m from an institutional placing of ordinary shares at 170p and £34.6m for selling shareholders.

SimplyBiz is the UK’s leading provider of compliance and business services to directly authorised financial advisers and supports around 3,500 customers. It employs more than 200 staff and has a membership base in excess of 6,000.

Mattel Inc., the US corporation listed on Nasdaq and worldwide specialist in games and toys, including the famous Barbie doll, sold its business consisting in the manufacturing and distribution of Corolle dolls, to German group Simba Dickie. Those dolls, made in France and acquired by Mattel in 1990, will thus be added to Simba Dickie’s portfolio. Simba Dickie is notably known for its Smoby and Majorette brands.

Latest Deal Takes Hampshire Firm’s Protyre Retail Network To 143

Micheldever Tyres Services Ltd has announced that it has acquired Bathwick Tyres for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisitive Hampshire-headquartered company will add Bathwick’s 31 retail sites to its own retail chain, Protyre.

Bathwick operates across the South and the South West of the UK and will take the Protyre network to 143 centres.

Norton Rose Fulbright is one of a number of law firms advising CHAMP Private Equity on the A$1 billion sale of Accolade Wines to Carlyle Group.

Shoosmiths has advised on the sale of Chevron Traffic Management (Holdings) Limited (Chevron Traffic Management) to European private equity firm, Triton.

Chevron Traffic Management is the largest traffic management company in England and Wales and specialises in the provision of temporary traffic management in accordance with NHSS (National Highway Sector Schemes), providing support on a range of schemes. It was previously owned by long term investor Portchester Equity Ltd.

Slaughter and May advised Rolls-Royce plc on the amendment and extension of its standby revolving credit facilities provided by a large syndicate of international finance institutions including, amongst other things, an increase of the total commitments from £1,500,000,000 to £2,500,000,000.

Contacts

Ed Fife (partner), Saffiya Haddad (associate)

Stephenson Harwood has advised International Bulk Thilawa Terminal Limited (IBTT), a joint venture between Lluvia, a Myanmar agri-processing company and Japan's Kamigumi, an integrated logistics firm, on a loan facility from the International Finance Corporation to develop a US$65 million port project at Thilawa Special Economic Zone in Yangon.  Lluvia's primary stakeholder is Capital Diamond Star Group, a leading Myanmar conglomerate with businesses across a range of sectors including real estate, retail, FMCG, healthcare and financial services.