Ed Foulkes

Ed is a ‘pragmatic and practical’ corporate lawyer dealing primarily with mergers and acquisitions. He has specialisms in the financial services, fintech and technology sectors.

Ed is the national head of the Corporate team. Described as ‘Reliable, accurate, efficient and prompt… a pleasure to work with’ by a current client, Ed’s specialisms include mergers & acquisitions, equity investments, buy-outs, joint ventures and corporate structuring.

He has a number of clients in the financial services, fintech and healthcare sectors, and also acts on mergers and acquisitions of advisory and professional practices.

Clients in the technology sector make up an increasing proportion of Ed’s client base in particular those involved in the fintech space.

Ed has a particular specialism in financial services and regularly advises on the financial promotion regime, and on transactions subject to Financial Conduct Authority regulation.

Ed joined Clarke Willmott in July 2012 from corporate boutique Lockett Loveday McMahon.

“Brilliant service and very professional.” – Jane Nuttall, Client, 2022

How Ed can help you

Ed regularly advises clients on all aspects of their corporate and commercial needs, but has specific expertise in:

• Transaction documentation, including share purchase agreements, asset sale agreements and disclosure processes;
• Transaction structuring, such as heads of terms, letters of intent and memorandums of understanding for a variety of different structures including share and business acquisitions, MBOs and others;
• Company incorporations;
• Corporate constitutions, including articles of association, shareholders’ agreements, limited liability partnership agreements and partnership agreements;
• Debt fund-raisings, including facility agreements, corporate security and personal guarantees;
• Venture capital and private equity fund-raisings, including investment agreements and loan note instruments;
• Value returns, including share buybacks and reductions of share capital;
• Due diligence investigations and reports;
• Contingent consideration structures, including addressing tax aspects;
• Continuing regulatory matters, including directors’ duties;
• The financial promotion rules.

Experience

• Acting for the shareholders of a major insurance broker on the £11m disposal of the business to a sector consolidator.
• Dealing with the investment by a global supplier of domestic heating equipment into a disruptive market entrant.
• Advising on the sale of a high-end forensic accountancy practice to a private equity backed group.
• Acting for the sellers of a supplier of forensic IT services.
• Advising specialist renewable energy fund Alpha Real on several acquisitions of operating renewable energy assets (onshore wind turbines and solar installations), with deal values in the range of £5m-£16m.
• Acting on a series of acquisitions in the engineering sector.
• Advising on initial and several further investment rounds for wejo, an IT and data provider to the insurance and automotive manufacturing industries.
• Advising management on the spin-out of a bespoke software provider to the investment banking industry from a global fintech group.
• Completing a series of acquisitions on behalf of IT support provider Clipeum IT group, along with its funding arrangements.
• Advising on the demerger of a large North West legal services group with a value in the region of £10m.
• Acting for the Sheet Anchor Group on its acquisition of the Grosvenor Centre, Northampton from the Reassure Group.
• Advising on the sale of the Pennine Geotechnical Group to an employee ownership trust (EOT) for the benefit of its employees.
• Acting on the £21m demerger of an industrial property portfolio.
• Acted for the majority seller on the disposal of CPS Building Services Limited to HIG Capital for a consideration of up to £36m.
• Acting on the acquisitions and disposals of numerous wealth management and financial advisory firms with typical values ranging from £2.5m to £50m.
• Advising the sellers on the disposal of the RU Group, a large IFA group based in the Midlands to the Progeny Group.