Acquisitions legal services

Acquisitions can make or break a business so you need legal advice you can really rely on – and lawyers who speak your language.

Not only do we have all the expertise you’d expect of a Top 100 UK law firm, but our co-operative approach ensures our advice is always focused on your business.

Our substantial team of corporate lawyers have in-depth expertise and long experience of advising on all kinds of acquisitions and mergers.

The range of sectors in which we have carried out acquisitions is equally wide and takes in everything from manufacturing, business services and IT to telecoms, printing, media, recruitment and motor dealerships and everything in between. The size of our team provides a very wide range of experience in different industries which we can utilise for your benefit wherever you are based.

With the increase in cross-border transactions we have undertaken many acquisitions in various countries around the world. Our experience, coupled with that of colleagues in our global alliance of professional firms, means whether you are acquiring a company just around the corner or on the other side of the world, we can provide the same degree of help.

Our acquisitive clients include owner-managed businesses, plcs, international groups, venture capitalists, private equity houses and management teams. Our approach is tailored to your needs and experience – to those perhaps embarking on their first acquisition we can provide a real “hand-holding” service bringing our commercial experience to bear as well as our technical legal skills; to experienced acquirers, we will seek to understand your areas of concerns and focus and concentrate our work in those areas.

We can also assist in finding appropriate acquisitions from our wide range of UK contacts or through our extensive overseas professional network.

So whoever you are, whatever and wherever the deal, we have the expertise and the resources to give you the very best advice and guidance, delivered in a pragmatic, no-nonsense manner.

Our services include advice on:

To discuss the future for your business and see how we can help, please get in touch.

Take a look at some of the previous transactions we have advised on.

What Our Clients Say

"The team at Ward Hadaway were instrumental in us achieving our objectives and were very knowledgeable when dealing with a large plc seller."

Bill Ward, Managing Director, Mill Garages North East Limited, on the management buy-out of five Volvo franchised car dealerships from Inchcape plc.
"It was important to us that this project was completed quickly and Catherine [Hinchliffe] and the team worked really hard to deliver the right result for us."

Peter George, Chairman, Mitre Group.
"Katherine Hay-Heddle and the team at Ward Hadaway provided fantastic service. This was my first experience of a management buy-out and Ward Hadaway did a fabulous job in guiding us through the process. They really looked after us and it was great to get such good advice from experienced lawyers who really know their stuff and keep you informed and up to speed with what is going on.”

Mark Hewitt, Managing Director, TRN (Train) Ltd.
"First class advice together with pragmatism and excellent service were the cornerstones for a successful strategic acquisition by the Fastflow Group. Also, they are nice people to work with in a high pressure environment."

Shaun Hastings, Group Director, Fastflow Group Ltd.

Independent Verdict

“The corporate team is praised for its ‘straight-talking, easy-to-understand, commercially focused’ advice.”

Legal 500
"Ward Hadaway is noted for its ‘fantastic commercial approach’."

Legal 500
“Ward Hadaway's corporate department is rated highly by clients who note that it is 'always a great team to work with; they are highly professional but very approachable, and they work exceptionally hard to get deals over the line'."

Chambers & Partners
"Impressive and straightforward advice and a refreshing commercial business-oriented approach."

Chambers & Partners
"We get advice that we can rely on, and at the right time, which is the most critical driver for us."

Client quote, Chambers & Partners
“Ward Hadaway is ‘well ahead of its North-Eastern competition’ … a ‘dynamic firm always looking to the future and for ways to improve its service’.”

Client quote, Chambers & Partners
"Advises regional, national and international clients on the full spectrum of commercial transactions, from M&A to restructuring and corporate governance. Features a strong bench of experienced practitioners."

Chambers & Partners
"What is good about Ward Hadaway is that you get partner-led service."

Client quote, Chambers & Partners
"Ward Hadaway delivers 'excellent commercial advice in a timely manner'."

Legal 500