PINSENT Masons’ Scottish team had a successful 2024 with the completion of a range of multi-million-pound national and international deals.
The firm’s head of corporate in Scotland, Barry McCaig, said despite challenging conditions, finance would be available in 2025 for the “right deals”.
Key transactions last year included advising William Grant & Sons on the acquisition of iconic whisky brand Famous Grouse from Edrington and the sale of Scottish engineering firm RJ McLeod to OCU Group.
Other notable transactions include the acquisition by Russell Group of the Coatbridge Intermodal Rail Terminal from Freightliner.
Pinsent Masons’ corporate energy team, led by Glasgow-based global head of Oil & Gas Rosalie Chadwick, was to the fore in advising Ithaca Energy on its £754m combination with Eni S.p.A. through Ithaca’s acquisition of substantially all of the Italian operator’s UK upstream oil and gas assets.
Renewable energy transactions were undertaken across the UK by Scottish lawyers and deals included the sale of the offshore transmission assets of the Moray East Offshore Wind Farm, acting for E.ON on one of the UK’s largest battery storage projects.
Pinsent Masons also advised Tesco on a deal which secures 10% of its electricity requirements from a new solar park.
The firm’s commercial property experts also advised Motor Fuel Group on the £2.5bn acquisition of 337 petrol forecourts and more than 400 EV charging sites from Morrisons supermarket chain.
The firm’s banking team in Aberdeen, led by Richard Scott, advised lender clients operating in the energy sector on several fundraising projects collectively valued at almost £700m.
This includes a £150m lending facility from a group of banks for clean energy group D2Zero, and a £70m revolving credit facility which funded Ashtead Technology’s acquisition of Seatronics and J2 Subsea Ltd.
Barry McCaig said the firm’s lawyers had played a central role in some of 2024’s most important transactions but he is cautious that the corporate deals market remains challenging due to economic uncertainty and rising wage costs.
He said: “Our strong local offering, with more than 550 staff in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow allied to diverse sector experience and a global presence in 27 locations, ensures we are in a strong position to advise clients in major UK and cross-border international transactions.
“The delay in implementing widely forecast cuts in interest rates has dented confidence in the market and tighter lending conditions or a more conservative approach by mainstream lenders make it a more challenging environment.
“That said, as demonstrated by the wide range of multi-million-pound deals we have advised on in the last 12 months, finance is available for the right deals.”
“Looking ahead, changes in the last Budget regarding inheritance tax could foster activity as family-owned businesses plan for the future.
“Recent Budget changes to inheritance tax, which have the potential to significantly increase the inheritance tax payable on the transfer of a business under a will, could mean family-owned businesses will look to restructure or opt for a sale in a bid to manage potential large tax liabilities which would be incurred if passed on to the next generation.”
