Duncan Shepherd, director and head of company commercial at Wake Smith, talks about which sectors are driving legal activity within the South Yorkshire’s business community and the type of work they are advising on and completing for clients.
South Yorkshire has always been a melting pot for industry and commerce and as we seem to head quickly through 2016 the diversity of business seems to increase, as does our involvement with those various sectors.
A marked increase in transactional work for our team at Wake Smith over the last few months has seen us deal with a range of companies from manufacturing to care homes, IT to professional services.
Advanced manufacturing moves forward with pace, with widespread deals completing across the region. There is the emphasis on diversification of products, services, processes and equipment from bulk products as well as competition from the Far East and other burgeoning economies.
The move to niche markets offers key competitive advantages, but our clients also report increased export growth and further export potential as traditional manufacturing, along with oil and gas related industry and waste metals markets, fall into decline.
Acting for buyers, sellers and the banks means we can see where the decline, consolidation and growth is – echoed by the results of the top 100 survey.
South Yorkshire still has a manufacturing base to be proud of, supported by it's skills set. The legacy of decades of production along with emerging research and the flow of new talent being produced by the city’s two universities means there is a bright future and combined with world leading British names like Rolls Royce and BAE Systems investing in the Sheffield City Region, there are many positives to focus on.
Away from manufacturing, we have seen some consolidation in the care home sector as the introduction of tight new regulations allows the bigger players to pick up smaller operators in high volume.
Motor dealerships, commercial property, IT and professional services consultancies are on the up and our case work also reflects that.
Wake Smith’s experience across a wide range of commercial law matters from terms and conditions of business and agency and distributorship agreements to complex multi-party documentation, requires us to have an appreciation, not just of the legal issues, but also the underlying commercial objectives.
As a result of working with a broad range of business clients we have developed considerable sector knowledge of specific industries, many of which are featured in today’s Top 100.
At the moment much of our work is focussed on sales and acquisitions for our clients. Proper exit routes and future proofing mean companies are now working harder to get their affairs in order before sale. Disputes and discrepancies can affect sales price and delay deals.
With the impending referendum on our membership of the European Union we are currently seeing no reduction in activity in the businesses we deal with. It is not creating any degree of uncertainty for our clients. There is a strong deal flow with the possible Brexit not impacting on this.
The banks are now lending and this has led to a flurry of pent-up deals being completed. For us, deals totalling an aggregate value of £40m have been completed in March and April with further deals with an aggregate value in excess of £20m due to complete in May.
Wake Smith's commercial legal team understands how companies operate and continues to advise its business clients throughout their life cycle, covering start up, growth, success and failure, advising on every key legal issue which affects them.
Investment and innovation are two key ingredients in any industry’s success. I like to think we have plenty of both in South Yorkshire’s business owners, entrepreneurs and employees - keeping growth, diversification and success high on the agenda in any boardroom in the region.
