Our employee ownership trust (EOT) team has supported a specialist glazing company that operates within the UK with its transition to employee ownership.
Read moreCorporate Lawyers
One of the biggest and most active corporate legal teams in the North. We’re trusted advisors on all types of transactions, M&A, investments and exits.
Talk to usWe have one of the largest specialist corporate law teams in the UK.
Our lawyers advise across the full business lifecycle, including on mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, venture capital investments (including into high growth businesses), group reorganisations, governance, business sales and exits, joint ventures, partnerships, LPs and LLPs. We also have a leading specialism in Employee Ownership Trust exits, having advised on 22 EOT deals in 2024.
Recognised as one of the UK's most active deal makers by Experian — having advised on 188 transactions in 2024 with a combined value of over £800m — we’re ranked in the top tier of The Legal 500 2025 for corporate and commercial matters, with multiple members of the team receiving credit in the Hall of Fame and as Leading Partners, Next Generation Partners, Leading Associates and Recommended Lawyers in their field.
Whether you're a public or private company, an investor, entrepreneur or shareholder seeking to understand your rights, our team contains over 50 highly regarded experts who can help to achieve your objectives. We can also call on expertise from our wider teams — which cover almost every legal specialism — and have various dedicated sector teams who can add significant value and insight.
Plus, as the only UK law firm with dedicated deal advisors, we can provide you with access to the best possible legal and financial advice in one cohesive place.
Experienced, accredited corporate lawyers
Our team is led by the highly experienced Mark Rathbone, who has handled significant corporate and commercial transactions for over thirty years.
Recognised as a Leading Partner by The Legal 500, Mark is an expert on all aspects of corporate law, including share options, mergers and acquisitions, MBOs, MBIs, venture capital, equity capital, collective investment schemes, investment structures, joint ventures and complex commercial arrangements.
As a founder of the tech accelerator Baltic Ventures and the LCR Angel Network, one of Mark’s key focuses is on guiding start-ups and early-stage businesses on their growth journeys.
We're proud to support a broad range of both national and international clients, including Peel Ports, NWF Group plc, Chase de Vere, All About Children, Begbies Traynor Group plc, Suez Group and Terminal Investment Limited.
2024 also saw the team advise on an increasing number of large transactions, including the sale of BGEN Limited to M Group Services backed by CVC, the sale of Rainham Industrial Services Limited to H.I.G. Capital and the sale of Dragon 2000 Limited to Lacour Group, as well as the acquisition of Compass CHC Limited by Omni Partners LLP and the acquisition of Kinder-Janes Engineers Limited by Atlas Copco UK Holdings Limited. We've also worked on various long-term, complex joint ventures and acquisitions with Terminal Investment Limited for the development of sea port container terminals on three different continents.
Recognised as a top tier firm in The Legal 500 2025
One-stop-shop for legal & financial advice
As the only UK law firm with dedicated deal advisors, we can offer a one-stop shop for both legal and financial advice.
Our specialist accountancy offering — Brabners Deal Advisory — is designed to tactically guide businesses and management teams through complex corporate transactions like MBOs, MBIs, acquisitions, disposals and fundraisings.
This unique and integrated service can really help you to realise your ambitions, create value and make the right deal for you happen.
“Noted for its ‘authenticity, knowledge and skill’, the corporate and commercial practice at Brabners acts for clients across the sport, tech, healthcare, automotive and hotel sectors on a wide range of matters... Mark Rathbone regularly advises domestic and international clients on joint ventures, commercial agreements and investment structures.”
The Legal 500 2025
“Brabners draws considerable praise from clients for its ‘focused and commercial’ approach. The team is well-positioned to advise on the full scope of corporate and commercial work, including M&A, group organisations, private equity, contracts, e-commerce and data protections matters.”
The Legal 500 2025
“It was a pleasure working with Daniel Hayhurst, Olayanju Phillips and the team at Brabners on the Series A equity investment by Puma Investments into Bikmo. We are very pleased with the quality of advice, in-depth knowledge and responsiveness demonstrated by the corporate team, who advised us on and negotiated the transaction documents throughout the deal and managed the process from start to finish. Their assistance was invaluable in bringing the funding round to a successful close.”
CFO, Bikmo
“Nikki Whittle is an outstanding legal leader who has taken her time to understand my business interests and provide insight and structure to developing the business. She's an excellent communicator, responsive and supported by a strong, capable and engaging team.”
Client feedback, The Legal 500 2025
Related insights
Talk to us
Loading form...