James Wells is an associate in the corporate team.  He specialises in IPOs on AIM, advising both brokers and companies, company restructuring, shareholder agreements, company mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts as well as other general company/commercial matters.

If you are thinking of entering the UK market, our "Doing Business in the UK" Guide will provide an overview of what you need to be thinking about. It covers a variety of topics including, real estate, funding, corporate arrangements, employment, tax and more.

Recent work advising

• the shareholders of Euroffice Limited including the fund managed by Private Equity House Net Partners, the founders, friends and family investors and management, on the sale by way of a management buy-out, to funds managed by Darwin Private Equity LLP for an undisclosed sum.  Euroffice is the UK’s leading online provider of office products to the SME sector
• the founders and management team of Ark Home Healthcare Group, a provider of domiciliary healthcare, in establishing this private equity backed new enterprise to consolidate, build and improve domiciliary health care provision in England.  This included advising on and co-ordinating the simultaneous acquisition for c.£5 million  of three independent providers
• the founders of a private equity backed new venture delivering debit/credit card processing services.  By acting as an intermediary between the end user and banks, this ground-breaking new enterprise in the UK aims to provide a bespoke cost-effective service to the Small Business sector
• a German-based client, one of Europe’s premier engineering companies, in acquiring the assets of a UK entity engineering high specification parts for the motor industry
• NASDAQ-listed Global Traffic Network, Inc. (GNET), a US-based radio and television advertising and travel news business, on its acquisition of the commercial division of AIM-listed UBC Media Group plc for in excess of £9 million
• the owners and managers of XLN Telecom Ltd, one of Britain’s fastest growing alternative Telecom Service Providers focusing on the Small Business sector, on their sale, by way of an MBO and backing from Zeus Private Equity. In 2007, XLN Telecom was ranked 29th on the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 survey of the 100 fastest growing technology companies in the UK
• AIM listed Interactive World plc on its circa £50 million conditional acquisition of Sport Newspapers Ltd from David Sullivan, David Gold and Ralph Gold
• ECI Partners and management on the sale of Tragus Holdings Ltd, the owner of the Café Rouge and Bella Italia restaurant chains, to Legal & General Ventures

Random fact

James has a doctorate in climate change and before joining FSI was English Heritage’s in-house specialist in micropalaeontology.

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