Leading commercial law firm Hill Dickinson has reported a strong start to its financial year, advising on 95 completed deals in the period May to November 2024, equating to over £1.8bn of transactions.
The strong performance from the firm’s corporate team comes off the back of a seventh successive year of firmwide growth, which saw its turnover increase to £145.5 million, up by 12% from FY22/FY23.
The 95 deals the team advised on cover a variety of sectors including professional services firms, manufacturing and life sciences. Significant transactions include the sale of Innovisk Capital Partners, a leading international supplier of specialist insurance services, to Chicago-based Ryan Speciality, as well as the sale of Blackpool-based Fox Brothers to Stellex Capital Management. The team also advised EA Technology, a solutions provider for the monitoring and management of electricity grids and assets, on securing investment from Nordic investment firm, Summa Equity, acted on the sale of Unity Health Group to Exam Works UK and advised Phenna Group on its acquisition of Environmental Compliance & Services Limited.
Hill Dickinson’s strong performance across its corporate offering comes off the back of significant team expansion across all its regions, marking a series of key partner hires, including the recruitment in early 2024 of James Harmer in London and of Nick Dawson and Emma Callow from Irwin Mitchell in order to establish a Birmingham team and, more recently, the arrival in August of Mark Johnson, who joined the London team from US firm, Haynes and Boone. There are now over 100 lawyers in the firm’s national corporate team.
We are proud to report that our performance aligns closely with our growth strategy. By securing mandates from a broad spectrum of institutional and owner-managed clients, the total value of deals advised marks a record high for the team at the half-year point. While the pace of transactions has naturally slowed since late October, the pipeline across our corporate teams remains robust. With strong momentum heading into the second half of our financial year, we are confident about continuing to deliver high-quality advice on landmark transactions across all sectors.Ian Riggs
National Head of Corporate at Hill Dickinson
Commenting on the firm’s performance, Ian Riggs, national head of corporate at Hill Dickinson, said: “The first half of our financial year has been a dynamic period for the national team, with involvement in a diverse array of UK and cross-border M&A, private equity, and public equity finance deals. Activity has surged over the past couple of months, as teams across all of our offices worked at pace to complete transactions ahead of the October Budget, which introduced significant changes to the capital gains tax regime.
“We are proud to report that our performance aligns closely with our growth strategy. By securing mandates from a broad spectrum of institutional and owner-managed clients, the total value of deals advised marks a record high for the team at the half-year point. While the pace of transactions has naturally slowed since late October, the pipeline across our corporate teams remains robust. With strong momentum heading into the second half of our financial year, we are confident about continuing to deliver high-quality advice on landmark transactions across all sectors.”
Fiona Parry, head of business services at Hill Dickinson, added: “Our corporate team has delivered a remarkable level of activity, showcasing its strength and adaptability in an ever-evolving M&A environment. From high-profile UK deals to complex international transactions, the team has played a key role in helping clients achieve their aims.
“We’ve reached a record-breaking half-year milestone, with the total value of deals advised exceeding all previous benchmarks and, as we move into the second half of the year, we remain focused on maintaining this momentum.”