Business desks

Our international business desks for the USA, Germany and India are staffed by lawyers with deep experience of advising clients in and from these key economic and geographic markets. They act as gateways for our preferred firm network, as well as supporting UK-based clients on navigating the unique challenges of these markets.

Please see more information on our business desks in the drop down menus below.

Our German Business Desk brings together professionals dedicated to providing exceptional service to our German clients with operations in the UK or looking to invest in the UK, as well as clients with operations in Germany or looking to invest in Germany. The Desk includes lawyers who have wide experience of working with German clients and law firms and who have market knowledge. They advise on a wide range of inbound and outbound issues such as establishing operations, acquiring businesses and cross border deals, joint ventures, funding, privacy and data, IP and commercial contracts, and dispute resolution.

To assist with this, we maintain strong relationships with leading German law firms as well as other specialist firms, collaborating effectively on both inbound and outbound work and enabling speedy and direct access to support our clients.

Our clients include corporates, public and family-owned businesses, private equity and venture capital houses, and family offices. These clients cover a wide range of our specialist sectors where we have particular expert knowledge including Mobility (including Automotive), Technology, Energy & infrastructure, Financial services, and Living.

Some examples of our recent work include:

Advising the German investment company, FMC Beteiligungs KG, on its acquisition of AGD Holdings, a UK construction equipment sales, rental and service company;
Advising German clean energy developer, EnergieKontor, across its UK portfolio on construction and turbine supply agreements, maintenance agreements, as well as its corporate PPAs and various disposals of construction-ready projects;
Advising German developer, ABO Wind, on a variety of development projects and disposals in the UK and Northern Ireland, including the sale of the 50MW Kells BESS project to SUSI Partners;
Advising the UK sales and financial services entities of a German OEM on regulatory compliance and enforcement / prosecution risk arising out of “dieselgate” following settlement with the KBA;
Advising a range of passenger and commercial vehicle companies on compliance with UK laws, regulations, product recalls and regulatory investigations;
Supporting the UK businesses of German OEMs on regulatory and legislative changes following Brexit;
Advising on a wide range of financial services cross-border projects, including an assessment of material outsourcing requirements and differences between BaFin and the UK’s Prudential Regulatory Authority and Financial Conduct Authority;
Advising multi-jurisdictional businesses to harmonise requirements with ECB on regulatory requirements, such as DORA;
Advising Union Investment Real Estate GmbH, one of the most active German fund managers with over 65bn Euro in assets under management, on all of their UK assets;
Advising in a cross-border patent dispute across multiple territories including Germany and the UK and involving technology in the automotive sector;
Acting for Altano International GmbH, a global veterinary group, on its acquisition of UK horse clinics;
Retained by German data centre developer, NDC Garbe Data Centres, to advise on all legal aspects of their European wide portfolio;
Acting for a German headquartered investment bank on real estate development financings;
Advising a Japanese car manufacturer on its strategic transition from a selective distribution sales model to an agency sales model in Germany;
Advising an operator of autonomous robots on its discussions with German road traffic authorities and a large municipality concerning a commercial trial of its delivery service on public sidewalks.

For more information, contact Crispin Bridges Webb or any other member of our team. You can also email the team at [email protected].

Our team

Crispin Bridges Webb
Victoria Bentley
Hannah Field
Ben Gardner
Wayne Gibbard
Jason Jackson
Liam Phillips
Jonathan Smart
James Wood-Robertson
Katie Yorke

Our India Business Desk brings together professionals dedicated to providing exceptional service to both Indian companies looking to invest in the UK, and companies looking to invest into India. Our team includes lawyers who have studied and worked in India, allowing us to bring valuable insights and expertise to our clients. We also maintain strong relationships with leading Indian law firms, collaborating effectively on both inbound and outbound projects. Additionally, we host regular podcasts in collaboration with Indian law firms to explore the latest legal developments and provide insights.

Understanding our clients’ cultures, and business needs enables us to focus on what matters to them. As well as assisting with outbound investment from Indian businesses looking to expand overseas, we also provide practical legal advice to our UK, European and International clients looking to the Indian market to support their strategy.

We advise on a range of issues such as establishing overseas operations, acquiring businesses, establishing joint ventures, raising finance, IP matters, commercial contracts and resolving complex and high value disputes.

Our recent work includes:

Acted for Reliance Brands Limited in respect of its joint venture with Superdry PLC for the South Asian IP rights (including India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh);
Acted for Reliance Brands Limited in respect of its joint venture with Mothercare PLC for its brand and the associated IP rights in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Bangladesh;
Advised PI Industries Limited, a Fortune India 500 listed Agri-Sciences company, on its offer to acquire Plant Health Care PLC;
Advised Raghu Vamsi Machine Tools Private Limited on its acquisition of the entire share capital of Precision Machined Components Limited, from Pressure Technologies Plc; and
Advised Rod Bransgrove and the majority sellers of Hampshire Sport & Leisure Holdings Limited on a phased acquisition by the GMR Group.

Our team

Sanjeev Sharma
Amit Nayyar
Kiran Desai
Prakash Kerai
Manu Mohan
Ami Bhatt

The United States is the largest foreign investor in the UK and the largest legal market in the world. Our team of experts have developed a deep understanding of the expectations and requirements of American clients and guide them on the differences both legal and cultural between the US and UK markets, getting to the core of what matters.

We work with US corporates and investors looking at opportunities in the UK and support them on their M&A and investment (PE, VC, Infrastructure) activities as well as on corporate set up, employment and immigration, tax and other needs as they look to expand into the UK market.

We regularly project manage major business critical projects for US clients across the UK and Europe, including data privacy, cyber-security and AI regulation, as well as advising US and UK companies on cross-border litigation.

We also bring our networks to assist US clients, allowing them to make valuable connections and help them embed themselves in the UK market.

For our non-US clients, we support them on their expansion into the USA, whether using M&A, PE/VC investment, or by setting up a new subsidiary. We have deep connections throughout the United States and the team have spent time in the United States to understand its complexities and nuances. Our comprehensive network of best friend firms, which have been carefully selected over a number of years, give clients coverage across the entire United States. We select those firms carefully and ensure that these firms match our commitment to providing excellent service, incisive thinking, and the ability to focus on what matters most to our clients.

Some examples of our work include:

Advising Everbridge Inc. on its $160m acquisition of the Anvil Group, an advanced business resilience solutions business;
Advising New York PE house Invus on its investment into DioniLife and its subsequent acquisition of low alcohol UK beer brand Mash Gang;
Advising Global Critical Logistics on its acquisition of UK-headquartered specialist logistics business CARS. [Add link to client story once live].
Advising US VC FINTOP on multiple investments in the UK;
Advising Estee Lauder on the UK aspects of its acquisition of Tom Ford;
Assisting LA based Mother Denin with its UK store expansion plans;
Advising consortiums of UK VCs on the sale of Vauban to Carta and Touchtype to Microsoft;
Advising Create Music Group on its acquisitions of UK record labels Ostereo and Enhanced.