Corporate

Teacher Stern’s Legal 500 ranked corporate team provides hands-on, commercially focused legal advice to domestic and international clients of all sizes.

Whether it’s mergers and acquisitions, private equity, capital markets, tax or other corporate advisory work, our corporate and commercial lawyers have the technical expertise and knowledge to guide you through the transaction process and deliver the results you need.

Our corporate and commercial lawyers aren’t just experts in their field. They are accomplished, pragmatic lawyers with well-rounded commercial experience who have the ability and determination to add value to our clients’ businesses. They are deal makers that can be relied upon to resolve issues and achieve results.

It’s the combination of our expertise, proactive approach, commitment to deliver and responsiveness that consistently ensures deals are done on time and in the manner that best serves our clients.

What we do

The areas covered by our corporate practice include:

Experienced in all types of public company work involving AIM and the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, we regularly advise issuers, financial intermediaries and nominated advisers/brokers on a vast majority of matters. This include pre-IPO fundraisings, Main Market and AIM listings, dual listings, secondary offerings, rights issues, reverse takeovers, acquisitions, disposals, the continuing post-admission regulatory requirements and all aspects of life on the public market.

In addition to advising on joint ventures for clients involved in property investment and development, our specialist team also advises on high value transactions involving the acquisition and disposal of both commercial and residential property. Many of these transactions have multi-jurisdictional elements arising from the use of complex corporate wrappers involving offshore companies and property unit trusts.

In undertaking any restructuring work, our very first task is always to understand the overall objective of the restructuring and the commercial drivers behind it. It’s only when we have that understanding that we can determine and advise on the correct approach for your organisation. We have acted for a number of UK companies, multinational corporate groups and financial institutions in connection with the reorganisation of their group structures.

We have a specialist expertise in, and frequently advise on, the tax aspects of corporate real estate transactions where we regularly advise a mix of high net worth individuals, institutions, investors and property developers on the VAT, SDLT and corporation tax implications of real estate transactions.

Joint ventures provide a clear structure for parties to share business risk, resources and ultimately rewards. They can involve complex issues and legal structures and can take many forms. Irrespective of the nature of the joint venture, our team has the depth and breadth of experience to help you identify, and resolve, the key issues and risks arising on any joint venture.

We know that pursuing an MBO or MBI opportunity can be one of the more complicated ways of acquiring an equity stake in a business. This is especially so when private equity or venture capitalists are investing side by side with the management team. However, a well put together MBO/MBI can be extremely rewarding for all involved.

Our M&A lawyers have extensive experience in acting for buyers of privately owned businesses – particularly in the sub £50m market where we advise on approximately 50+ M&A deals per year, including cross border acquisitions and disposals. We work closely with the buyer’s deal team and professional advisors to identify and manage transaction risk, and to protect the buyer from potential liabilities.

Drawing on cross-disciplinary expertise from lawyers in our corporate, employment, tax and dispute resolution practices, Teacher Stern advises on partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships and individuals across the full spectrum of partnership matters.

Our Corporate and Commercial lawyers regularly advise clients ranging from early-stage start-up companies seeking finance through to private equity institutions, family offices, sovereign funds, sellers of owner-managed businesses, lenders and management teams.

Meet the Corporate and Commercial lawyers

Testimonials

Legal 500 2024 

‘David Ponsford is thoughtful, technically savvy and commercial.’

‘The team is big enough to cover the necessary areas, and it is small enough to run effectively and efficiently. It is important from the client’s perspective to ensure, as much as possible, the consistency in terms of quality, responsiveness, commercial awareness and reliable delivery.’

‘David Ponsford definitely stands out. He is always very responsive, ensuring clients have his attention. More importantly, his commercial awareness and practical approach is definitely an asset for the client to success in a transaction. Undoubtedly very competent in the area he has been advising.’

‘The team is clearly very knowledgeable and dedicated to their clients. Their level of technical knowledge is unrivalled by any other. They go above and beyond to deliver the results the clients want. I know I can always depend on their profound expertise and professionalism.’

‘I have worked with them for numerous years and they are always extremely efficient. They always exceed my expectations with their service. David Ponsford, David Irwin, David Phillips and Phil Berry are just a few names that I could mention.’

‘The absolute key here is that you are hiring a team. However big or small a job/transaction is, there is always a team that is supporting you directly. They bring out the best-in-class expertise even if in the background, so one doesn’t need to look elsewhere.’

‘They listen before they offer advice. David Ponsford and his team have always taken a very collaborative approach enabling us to play out various alternatives before taking a particular course of action in our transactions.’

‘Great availability, professional, and great service.’

“demonstrated both commercial and technical excellence in a complex transaction”
Ian Hogg, Director and Shareholder, Fox Poker Limited

“Teacher Stern’s corporate team was a vital component to the successful conclusion of a complex and detailed transaction offering us proactive advice and creative solutions when needed”
Ran Avidan, Managing Director, GAIL’s Bakeries

“I want to express my gratitude to the team at Teacher Stern for their astounding work on getting this high value important deal over the line at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The firm, at very short notice, and at the most intense stages of a highly complex transaction, implemented their business continuity plan seamlessly and the transaction exchanged and completed within the 7 day timetable. Their Corporate and Real Estate Departments worked tirelessly to ensure obstacles were overcome (including the last minute commercial negotiations, the legal technicalities and the practical issues of signing, executing and delivering documents) and that deadlines were met. Whenever any problems arose, the team were on hand and available and quickly offered pragmatic and workable solutions.

This was a remarkable achievement and they deserve full credit.”
On behalf of an overseas investor client.

‘The entire team were incredibly knowledgeable, experienced, commercially astute and always responsive. I believe that maintaining momentum throughout the transaction was a crucial part of the overall success and the entire Teacher Stern team always ensured we were well prepared and turned everything around in an expedient manner. The entire Teacher Stern team were superb and I cannot recommend them enough.’
Legal 500 Testimonial 

‘David Salisbury is extremely personable, has an acute commercial sense and instils every confidence that he will provide sound reasoned advice with his clients best interests and not there to score points with the other side.’
Legal 500 Testimonial 

‘Go-to choice when it comes corporate and M&A related matters.’
Legal 500 Testimonial 2022