The team at Birketts LLP is noted as being ‘responsive and willing to find practical and commercial solutions’ to clients’ issues. The firm is a regional powerhouse but also handles a growing stream of cross-border transactional matters. Practice head James Allen provides ‘measured, pragmatic and commercial advice’ and notably recently assisted Greene King Limited with the acquisition of smokehouse restaurant group Hickory’s. ‘Approachable and easy to work with‘ early-stage funding expert Quentin Golder, private equity specialist Adrian Seagers and experienced ICT partner Andrew Priest also play pivotal roles in the practice, as does Nick Burt, who was promoted to partner in June 2022.

Goodwin's Cambridge office is a key hub for the firm-wide technology and life sciences practice, which has a prominent global profile. The firm advises private and public companies, venture capital funds and investment firms on early-stage financings, capital market transactions, M&A deals, strategic collaborations and licensing matters in this context. David Mardle, Malcolm Bates and Tim Worden are the lead partners. Adam Thatcher who was promoted to partner in October 2022 and Elizabeth Rhodes play key roles in tech in VC and M&A transaction work, namely. The team is noted as being ‘smart and responsive, with good depth of skill and experience in complex transactions'.

Mills & Reeve LLP has a large corporate M&A practice that handles high-value regional work as well as a growing roster of national and international matters. Its work includes major IPOs of companies based in East Anglia and London, as well as cross-border M&A deals, private equity transactions and VC financings. Head of corporate Tom Pickthorn and head of commercial Kevin Calder are the lead partners. Pickthorn acted for The Lee Company, Inc. in the multimillion-pound acquisition of micropump technology company TTP Ventus. Education and investment fund partner Claire Clarke, mid-market specialist Jonathan Greenwood, and private equity partner Anthony McGurk are among the many standout partners. Senior associate Charlotte Bull is also recommended.

The corporate practice at Mishcon de Reya LLP ‘sees the big picture and understands where the real corporate risks are’. The Cambridge team handles a range of transactional and advisory work, which includes handling sell-side and buy-side M&A and venture capital transactions, as well as advising high potential IP-rich emerging companies on the range of corporate and commercial matters. Charles Fletcher is the practice head, supported by standout partners Adam Bradley, who is regarded as ‘one of the savviest transactional lawyers’, Sian Scanlon, and emerging companies specialist Tom McGuire. ‘Calm, precise and patient‘ senior counsel Nick Palmer and managing associate Sarah Ilic are also recommended.

The Cambridge office of Withers LLP is the firm’s UK life sciences hub and clients note that ‘the corporate team has deep specialist knowledge of venture capital transactions in the technology sector’. The Cambridge team consists of lead partner Susanna Stanfield, who has ‘deep specialist knowledge in venture capital transactions and is an authority in the field‘, and senior associate Mary Harley. They work closely with IP specialist Richard Penfold and venture capital expert James Shaw, who both work in Cambridge and London, as required. Stanfield advised biotech research firm Kynos Therapeutics on its spin-out from the University of Edinburgh and its £9m financing round.

BDB Pitmans is well-regarded for ‘the clarity of advice' it offers its clients, alongside its ability to ‘balance expert advice with a pragmatic and thoughtful approach'. Corporate partner Duncan Walker provides ‘first-class, concise and commercial advice‘ and associate Ross Fletcher ‘has a willingness to go the extra mile‘. The team recently advised KISS Communications Limited on the acquisition of online marketing agency Isle Interactive Limited. Consultant James Stephen departed to Howes Percival LLP in January 2023.

Clients of HCR Hewitsons appreciate the firm’s ‘personal service and good communication skills’. Head of the Cambridge office Inger Anson leads the corporate practice and focuses predominantly on early-stage growth funding work. She is ‘highly experienced and quickly gets to the nub of the matter, helping clients to foresee future risks and challenges‘. Partners James Lawrence, whose work includes employment ownership trusts, and Laurence Evans, who handles partnership matters and family offices, also play key roles in the practice. Former head of commercial Nathan Evans departed to Fladgate LLP in April 2023.

Howes Percival LLP's team is described as having ‘plenty of experience, combined with a calm and commercial approach‘. The firm handles a broad-range of transactional and advisory work, notably in the healthcare, leisure and tourism sectors, though it is seeing a growing flow of work from industries such as automotive, technology, and food and beverage. James Stephen joined from BDB Pitmans in January 2023 to lead the corporate team in Cambridge; the ‘prompt and courteous‘ Oliver Pritchard leads the broader corporate, commercial and banking group in East Anglia.

Taylor Wessing LLP is noted as having ‘a strong corporate presence in the Cambridge ecosystem’. Practice co-heads are IP specialist Adrian Toutoungi and Ross McNaughton, who is regarded as ‘a go-to adviser on venture capital transactions‘. The team counts numerous life sciences companies amongst its clients, including Shield Therapeutics plc, Cambridge Epigenetix and Fusion Antibodies. The firm recently acted for desktop bioprinting company Nuclera on its $58m series B financing.

Stone King LLP‘s Cambridge office provides general corporate, M&A and commercial support to businesses, especially impact ventures, as well as social enterprises, education institutions and charities. There is an increasingly international element to the firm’s work, notably in M&A transactions in the independent school sector. Practice head Miguel Pereira, who works in both the London and Cambridge offices, is the key partner for such matters, while Tamsin Eastwood also handles deals in the financial services sector.

Tees Law has an increasingly broad practice thanks to head of corporate and commercial Lucy Folley, who works from both the Cambridge and Brentwood offices. ‘Tenacious negotiator‘ Alastair Cotton brings extensive in-house experience to bear on commercial matters as well as on M&A deals, joint ventures, MBOs, and private equity transactions and restructurings.