Providing an ‘excellent service’ with ’attention to detail and commercial awareness’, Shoosmiths covers M&A, private equity and venture capital transactions across a range of sectors, with established strength in the tech, life sciences and sports sectors as well as continued engagement in the start-up community. Alison Gilson leads the team and is well geared to act on a variety of domestic and cross-border corporate transactions and capital raises. Kimberley Goh demonstrates ‘exceptional guidance’ when navigating clients through commercial negotiations and is lauded for her ’granular attention to detail and measured and pro-active approach’, while Jen Paton, who handles M&A and venture capital deals, supports clients at a national level.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘They really take the time to understand your business and put the right team together for the job in hand. They work hard at meeting timeframes that fit with us.'

  • 'The knowledge and experience across the team is very good and they take a very commercial approach to advise whilst identifying risks.'
  • ‘The team at Shoosmiths provide an excellent service. They are diligent and pragmatic, looking for solutions rather than presenting problems. They understand the challenges and constraints that small business owners have and aim to make their processes as light touch as they can.’

  • ‘Jen Paton is fantastic. She always delivers, on time and with a smile on her face! She has taken the time to understand our business and this has been really helpful as we worked though our previous engagement.’

  • ‘The team were able to get up to speed on a new client incredibly quickly, understanding the complexity of pre-existing agreements and ongoing commercial discussions. They were very responsive and able to work to short timescales, while retaining an attention to detail and commercial awareness to help resolve issues encountered along the way.’

  • ‘We were particularly impressed by Kimberley Goh who quickly became a trusted adviser. She demonstrated exceptional guidance in helping us navigate commercial negotiations with a granular attention to detail and a measured and pro-active approach at all times. Kimberley was highly pro-active in keeping things moving and responding positively to a challenging timetable. Kimberley ultimately played a crucial role in achieving a successful outcome on the project.’

  • ‘I find the team responsive and commercial. When plans change, they are able to react accordingly and get things done quickly with additional resource being available as needed.’

  • ‘Jen Paton was a great associate to have working on our corporate matter. She listened to what we wanted and understood the part we wanted her and her colleagues to play, and as a result was a really valuable team member.’

Key clients

  • Extreme E Limited
  • Certara USA Inc
  • DotDigital Group plc
  • Marwyn Investment Management LLP
  • Dukes Education Group Ltd
  • Engine B Limited
  • Maven Capital Partners UK LLP
  • Housing Growth Partnership
  • Foresight Group LLP
  • Sandbox International Holdings Limited

Work highlights

  • Advised AIM listed DotDigital Group plc on the £25m acquisition of Fresh Relevance Limited, a vendor of cross-channel personalisation technology.
  • Advised US buyer Certara USA Inc on its acquisition of Scottish biotech company Formedix Limited.
  • Advising electric motor racing championship client Extreme E Limited on international fundraise and corporate governance matters.

Lawyers

Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Alison Gilson

Other key lawyers

Kimberley Goh, Jen Paton