Gowling WLG

Life Sciences; Corporate, M&A & Capital Markets; Real Estate; Private Equity; United States

Partner

"Chris stuck with us through some difficult challenges on the company side when it all seemed to us to be coming off of the rails but his calm measured approach always got us through."

In-house Counsel, Local Government

Chris Towle helps clients to stay in control of their acquisitions, disposals, restructurings, strategic investments and joint ventures, in order to ensure that they are successfully delivered while maximising value and minimising risk.

While Chris regularly advises on all forms of corporate transactions, restructurings and governance, he has particular experience in major corporate restructurings, private equity and indirect real estate (specifically complex corporate transactions involving real estate assets and property-rich companies).

Chris' clients benefit from his deep appreciation and experience of cross-border transactions. The majority of his work involves international corporates, funds or other cross-border elements and so, while he advises on English law, he is well used to managing teams of lawyers in Europe and beyond, and coordinating work streams in multiple jurisdictions, in order to deliver integrated cross border advice and to ensure a consistent approach to the delivery of that advice, no matter where a client is doing business.

A firm believer in hard work, proactivity and responsiveness, Chris aims to make the whole process as efficient and painless as possible for his clients and to work in a way that genuinely compliments and responds to their needs.

Chris enjoys spending time getting to know the people within his clients' organisations and immersing himself in their businesses in order to genuinely understand their culture, business needs and the way that they operate. In doing so he strives to work alongside his clients, as an extension of their wider team, in order to offer the most appropriate commercial and legal advice and expertise.

As well as heading up the firm's UK sales team alongside our senior partner, Chris sits on the firm's US desk and works closely with our US clients and contacts on a wide range of transactions, spending several weeks each year in Washington and Philadelphia. Both are roles which he greatly enjoys and which enable him to build strong relationships with UK and US based organisations, promoting the firm and assisting with winning high-profile new clients.

From 2011 to 2013, at times on an almost daily basis, Chris led our team advising on the UK aspects of an £18 billion global restructuring for a US-led major corporate client. The restructuring spanned 35 jurisdictions, three consecutive years, and as well as requiring a great deal of technical expertise, also called for an extremely significant amount of project management and cross-border interaction. Of the 35 jurisdictions involved, only the UK end was delivered on time and on spec – something which both the clients and we were very pleased about. In the client's words, they demanded a lot and Chris delivered!

Another particularly challenging highlight for Chris was acting on behalf of a UK-based biotech company, which we had previously advised on significant funding rounds and biotech collaborations, in relation to its £91 million cross-border acquisition by a NASDAQ-listed US pharmaceutical corporation. The deal was highly complex and, as well as involving a UK scheme of arrangement, required wide-ranging international M&A experience and in-depth life science expertise.

One further example would be Chris' involvement, from start to finish, in the £1.2 billion restructuring and cross-border sale of various industrial and retail elements of a European real estate developer's business. The transaction required the team to work tirelessly on a daily basis for almost a year...

English