Award-winning corporate and commercial legal advisers to businesses across Scotland, the UK and overseas.
MacRoberts' corporate finance lawyers advise on all areas of corporate law, including start-up and venture capital deals, joint ventures, business restructures, mergers, acquisitions, disposals, selling your business, investing in other businesses, securing equity investment and more.
Our Corporate team works with businesses of all sizes, from SMEs to multinationals, and we have a particular expertise advising family-owned businesses on the unique corporate challenges they face.
With first-hand experience of owning and working within family businesses, our team is ideally placed to understand the requirements and objectives of such clients.
Our team is recognised as one of Scotland’s leading corporate practices, consistently featuring highly in published league tables of advisers, and has worked on some of Scotland’s most high-profile deals. We frequently advise clients across the UK and internationally who have interests in Scotland and the rest of the UK.
We have an established track record in advising clients on their mergers and acquisitions, and support businesses throughout the process, including all aspects of due diligence, setting up data rooms, information gathering, producing deal documentation, and negotiating our client’s position. We take the time to fully understand our clients’ objectives and our clients benefit from our practical and proactive approach to securing the best possible outcomes for them.
Whatever the reason behind the decision to restructure your business, there are numerous legal matters to consider. Our corporate finance lawyers advise businesses across all sectors on restructuring solutions, providing practical, commercial, and efficient advice on all aspects of the process. Our technical and legal expertise means we can help you identify risks and potential issues before they become too serious to resolve, ensuring the process is as smooth as possible.
Whether you are a business owner looking to secure growth capital or an investor looking to grow your business portfolio, our market-leading team can support you in getting the deal over the line as efficiently and smoothly as possible. We advise our clients on a wide range of investment opportunities, including venture and growth capital, management buy-outs, management buy-ins, vendor-initiated management buy-outs (VIMBOs), and all necessary documentation.
Whether you are an investor or a business owner seeking investment, we advise clients throughout the process, from the beginning stages of investment right through to final completion. We regularly engage with colleagues across the firm to advise clients on all aspects of the investment process, including relevant documentation and agreements, tax arrangements, share schemes and employee benefits, intellectual property, data protection and privacy issues, and employment issues.
If you are thinking about selling your business, it is important to plan ahead to consider the future and legacy of your business. We seek to fully understand our clients’ objectives and motivations for selling their business and provide support and advice on appropriate exit strategies, managing expectations at each stage of the process. We can advise on the main considerations for sellers, including tax considerations, employment issues, contracts, and collaboration post-acquisition.
MacRoberts can support your business with corporate secretarial services, including:
Michael Kelly and his team at MacRoberts worked closely with us on the sale of Hireway Rentals Ltd. Michael utilised his knowledge and commercial awareness to close on this £18 million deal which resulted in involvement from over 20 third parties.
The success of this complex transaction is a direct result of the MacRoberts team's professionalism, skill set and vast legal experience.
HIREWAY RENTALS LTD
Our corporate finance lawyers have been involved in some of Scotland’s most high-profile deals, spanning a large number of sectors and a wide range of deal values. These deals have involved clients at both ends of the spectrum, from large multinational PLCs to some of Scotland’s most exciting and ambitious start-ups.
We acted for the shareholders of Hearing & Wellbeing Limited, a leading audiology, ear health and hearing aid provider with branches all over Glasgow, in the sale of the entire issued share capital of the company to TAC Holding Limited.
We acted on behalf of Greenwood Moreland Insurance Brokers, one of Scotland’s largest professional insurance brokers, in their acquisition of Calcluth & Sangster Insurance Brokers, based in Glasgow.
We acted for the shareholders of Roth Limited, a company which specialises in electrical and mechanical engineering in both the residential and commercial sectors, in the sale of its entire issued share capital to Prime Electrical Group (Holdings) Limited.
We acted for Rebecca Tonner, a first-time dental practice buyer, in the purchase of the business and assets of Water Row Dental Practice, a dental surgery based in Glasgow.
Acted for the seller in the sale of leading property management firm Speirs Gumley to Strathspey Capital. The deal makes the combined entity Scotland’s largest property factoring business.
We acted for Brian and Christy McTear, the shareholders of Hireway Rentals Ltd, in the sale of its entire issued share capital to Reflex Vehicle Hire Limited. Reflex used a £18 million funding package from HSBC to acquire the Wishaw-based vehicle rental business.
We acted for the shareholders of JGC Engineering and Technical Services in the sale of a majority equity share of the company to Langfields, one of the UK's largest manufacturers of clean energy equipment.
Advised on corporate, banking, construction, property, IP, technology and commercial aspects of a multi-million pound round of investment and refinance.
We advised the vendor/key management on the sale of CPS Building Services Limited to global investment firm HIG Capital.
We acted for Foresight Group in relation to their £3.8m investment in the Electric Heating Company, an electric heating specialist which supplies electric boilers, heaters and water cylinders to housing associations, developers and private homeowners across the UK.
We acted for Heliex Power Limited in relation to its latest investment round involving Par Equity and City, University of London.
We acted for the shareholders of ECC (Scotland) Ltd in relation to the sale of the entire issued share capital of the company to JOT Holdings Ltd.
We acted on behalf of the shareholders of Instinctive Business Intelligence Limited, an established company across the UK and Canada delivering solutions and resources to solve data change challenges, in relation to the sale of the entire issued share capital of the company to Version 1 Solutions Limited, a leading IT services and solutions company.
We acted on behalf of Complete Roofing Systems Ltd (Complete Roofing) in the purchase of the entire issued share capital of Allied Roofing (Holdings) Ltd, the parent company to Allied Roofing and Construction Limited (Allied Roofing), a family-run domestic and commercial contractors firm. The acquisition has allowed Complete Roofing to take over the running of Allied Roofing and expand its business into the social housing sector, working with housing landlords and associations.
We acted for The Roseate Edinburgh Limited in the acquisition of The Dunstane House and Hampton House Hotel, five-star luxury accommodation located in the heart of Edinburgh.
We acted on behalf of the shareholders of Kirkintilloch Orthodontics Limited, in relation to the sale of the entire issued share capital of the company to The Real Good Dental Company Limited, Scotland’s leading dental group.
We acted on behalf of the shareholders of JBB Knotweed Solutions South Limited, a company providing specialist services for the identification, surveying, treatment and removal of Japanese Knotweed, in relation to the management buyout of the shares in the company by SE Environmental Ltd.
We acted for Brightwater Services Ltd in the purchase of the business and assets of Blue Business Water Limited, a competitive and well-established water and energy supplier.
We acted on behalf of Spotless Commercial Cleaning Limited in the purchase of the entire issued share capital of Clearsprings Support Services Ltd, a company specialising in the delivery of cleaning and support services to customers throughout Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Sussex, Berkshire and Surrey.
Acted for Agilico (alongside English firm Browne Jacobson LLP) in its strategic acquisition of Edinburgh-based Capital Document Solutions Limited.
Acted on behalf of A J Dental Holdings Ltd in the purchase of the business and assets of Dalmuir Dental Care Limited, a dental practice located in Clydebank which provides a full range of dental care services within Dalmuir and the surrounding areas.
We acted on behalf of Utkantha Sharma Ltd in the purchase of the business and assets of Maryhill Dental Limited, a long-established dental practice that offers a wide range of essential and cosmetic treatments.
We acted on behalf of the shareholder of NewMetrica Limited, a Scottish animal health-related digital tools developer, in relation to the sale of the entire issued share capital of the company to Zoetis, a world-leading animal health company.
We acted for the shareholders of George Stubbs Financial Services, an independent financial advice company, in the sale of the company to Radiant Financial Group.
Acted for the selling shareholders in the sale of IT managed services business CompanyNet.
We acted for the shareholders of Redmyle Limited in relation to the sale and purchase of the entire issued share capital of the company to United Power AB.
We acted on behalf of the shareholder of Russell Gibson Financial Management Limited, one of the leading financial planning firms in Scotland, in relation to the sale of the entire issued share capital of the company to One Four Nine Wealth Limited, a nationwide independent financial advice and fund management group.
We acted on behalf of Creggan Bahn Limited, a family-run care home based in Ayr, in the sale of the business and assets of the company to the Maria Mallaband Care Group, one of the UK’s leading care home operators. We also assisted in the sale of the property at Creggan Bahn Court to Aedifica, a company that specialises in investments in European healthcare real estate.
We acted for the shareholders of Mathewson Dental Practice Ltd, the owner of St. John’s Road and East Craigs dental practices based in Edinburgh, in the sale of entire issued share capital of the company to SDC Group Limited, a Scottish based dental group providing both NHS and private services.
We acted for the shareholders in the sale of the entire issued share capital of Essential Dental Care Ltd, a private full-service dental practice, including cosmetic dentistry and facial aesthetics, based in Edinburgh, to The Real Good Dental Company Limited, a growing network of local dental clinics throughout Scotland.
We acted for the shareholders of Greenwood Group Holdings Limited, the parent company of Greenwood Insurance Consultants Limited, an independent insurance broker based throughout Scotland, in the sale of 75% of the share capital of the company to JMG Group Investments Limited, an investment company which forms part of one of the UK’s leading insurance brokers, the JMG Group.
Scottish advisers to Zenergi Group in its acquisition of DB Group (Europe), a utility management business specialising in energy, water and communications services for businesses.
Acted for Mark to Market, an Edinburgh-based M&A data and analytics platform, in equity fundraising from Par Equity, 24Haymarket, Techstart and others.
Acted for the selling shareholders in the sale of Creation IP Limited to Murgitroyd, an international practice of intellectual property attorneys.
Acted for Edinburgh based Genius Brewing Limited in several share issues to support their growth.
Acted for the buyer in the acquisition of the business of Highland Holiday Cottages based in the Cairngorms.
Acted for Dears Healthcare Limited in its acquisition of Markinch Pharmacy.
Acted for the selling shareholders in the sale of Demon Cato Limited (a manufacturing and electrical component manufacturer) to MetPro Limited.
Acted for management of Sumdog Ltd, a global B2B player in the edtech market with a strong presence in the US and Europe, in the sale of the company to eEducation Albert, a Scandinavian application-based education platform offering subscription-based digital education services for children aged 3-16 years.
Advised Bell Group, one of the largest painting, decorating and building maintenance contractors in the UK, in relation to its acquisition of the business of Mi-space (UK) Ltd, the property services division of the Midas Group.
Advised Douglas Laing & Company Limited, a leading independent blender and bottler of Scotch Whisky on its strategic acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Perthshire distillers, Strathearn Distillery Ltd.
We acted for the shareholders of Mason Evans Partnership (Holdings) Limited in relation to the sale of the entire issued share capital of Mason Evans Partnership (Holdings) Limited, an expert geo-environmental consultancy company based in Glasgow, and its subsidiary (Mason Evans Partnership Limited) to Construction Testing Solutions Limited.
We acted on behalf of the shareholders of Camarc Design, a UK-based and one of Europe’s leading small craft design firms specialising in the design of seaworthy high speed boats, in the management buyout of the company to Camarc Group Limited.
We acted on behalf of Tillicoultry Quarries Limited, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of aggregates, ready-mixed concrete, mortar, render, gravel, asphalt, sands and sports sands, in the purchase of four new site locations from CEMEX UK Operations Limited, a global provider of construction materials.
We acted on behalf of the shareholders of W&J Knox, a leading manufacturer of fish farm cage nets and camouflage netting, in the acquisition of a majority share of the company by Selstad, a Norwegian-based maritime equipment supplier.
Acted for the vendors, Nicholas Pye and Nicola Lewis, in their sale of Youmanage HR Ltd, an online HR management software platform, to Marlowe Plc (owner of Law at Work and Ellis Whittam).
Acted for Heliex Power Limited in relation to its latest investment round involving funding from ESB Novusmodus LP, BP Technology Ventures Limited and Scottish Enterprise.
Acted for the shareholders of Orr Kerr Dykes Financial Services Limited, an independent financial services business based in Glasgow, in the sale of its entire issued share capital to KPW Investments (Scotland) Limited.
Acted for Atlantic Investors (Scotland) Ltd, a well-established independent financial advisory firm based in Glasgow, which provides a range of services to corporate and domestic clients, in the sale of certain of its assets to Capital Professional Limited (trading as Ascot Lloyd), a leading national firm of financial advisors.
We acted on behalf of the shareholders of AGL Wealth Management Ltd on the sale of the entire issued share capital to IWP Newco 1 Limited, a subsidiary of Independent Wealth Planners UK Limited.
Acted on behalf of the shareholders of Donaldson Construction Ltd. on the sale of the entire issued share capital of the company to Donaldson Holdings (Scotland) Limited.
Acted on behalf of the M&J Builders Merchants Limited, a family owned timber and builders’ merchant, on the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of South Lanarkshire Building Supplies Limited, one of South Lanarkshire’s leading independent timber and builders’ merchants, established in 1997.
Acted on behalf of Greenwood Moreland Insurance Brokers, a leading independent insurance broker in West Central Scotland, in the acquisition of Tain-based J Moore & Co.
Acted for the vendor of J. Thomson Colour Printers, a market leading print solutions provider in Scotland with offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and Aberdeen, in the share sale of the company.
Alan Kelly is our main partner in this investment project. We really appreciated his attention to detail and responsiveness. The investment project was a bit complicated as we had to purchase the shares from 23 different shareholders around the world at the same time. We had a great time working with Alan and a big success of the investment.
LEGAL 500
MacRoberts' Corporate Finance team is delighted to share some of its deal highlights and numbers from 2022. We would like to say a big thank you to all our clients and team members who contributed to a successful year.
Aberdeen's M&A market has generally proved itself to be resilient in tough times. Having emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, and with businesses facing a new set of challenges, what is the outlook for 2023?
What impact has the pandemic had on the IFA sector and what do business owners need to be mindful of as the sector evolves?
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In 2016, we were one of the first law firms in Scotland to become accredited Living Wage employers.
Shortlisted for Firm of the Year at the Scottish Legal Awards 2022.
Winners of Corporate & Commercial Team of the Year and Family Law Team of the Year at the Scottish Legal Awards 2020.
Our Real Estate team won the Property Team of the Year Award at the British Legal Awards in 2018.
Winner of SME of the Year at the Scottish SME Awards 2017, hosted by Scottish Business Insider.
Highly Commended for Commercial Team of the Year at the British Legal Awards 2016.
In 2019, MacRoberts achieved Cyber Essentials Plus certification, a UK Government entry-level information security standard.
MacRoberts holds the ISO 9001:2015 certification for Quality Management, the most widely recognised quality management system standard in the world.
MacRoberts holds the ISO14001:2015 certification for Environmental Management, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to environmental awareness.
MacRoberts holds the ISO27001:2013 certification for Information Security, an internationally recognised security gold standard.
Business continuity is a critical element of the Business Management System at MacRoberts and we hold full accreditation with the ISO 22301:2019.
MacRoberts is a member of IP Inclusive, a network of intellectual property professionals working to make our community more equal, diverse and inclusive.
We are active members of the PRIME Programme – an organisation that focuses on ensuring a career in law is open to talent from all economic and social backgrounds.
MacRoberts supports the Scottish Business Pledge, a values-led partnership between Government and business that is based on boosting productivity and competitiveness through fairness, equality and sustainable employment.
We are supporters of the Partnership for Change, a network of organisations and individuals who share a common ambition to improve diversity on boards and in senior leadership.
We are a member of the Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (ENEI), a UK-based not-for-profit organisation which helps employers build and maintain diverse teams and inclusive cultures through our membership, training, and consultancy services.
MacRoberts was awarded enei's Silver TIDEMark for 2023. TIDE is enei's self-assessment evaluation and benchmarking tool which measures an organisation's overall approach and progress on diversity and inclusion.
MacRoberts is a Disability Confident employer, and are committed to disability equality across our firm.
MacRoberts fully supports flexible working practices and supports family-friendly working practices.
In 2022, MacRoberts received a Bronze Award in Stonewall's Workplace Equality Index for our commitment to LGBTQI+ inclusivity in the workplace.
MacRoberts is a longstanding member of Scotland Food & Drink, the leading trade association for Scotland's food and drink industry.
MacRoberts is an Associate Member of SELECT, Scotland's largest construction trade association.
