Organic growth boosts corporate team

Wake Smith has strengthened its corporate team to become one of the region’s largest company and commercial specialists.

Joe Creasor joins as a newly-qualified solicitor having spent the previous 12 months as a trainee within the department, and trainee solicitor Michael Lea now joins the team; demonstrating Wake Smith’s continued commitment to development.

Corporate solicitor Millie Vaughan has also recently re-joined Wake Smith’s company commercial team led by Wake Smith director and chairman John Baddeley plus director Rebecca Robinson and associate Tom Haywood, who are all supported by corporate legal assistant Debbie Huckerby.

John Baddeley said: “I am delighted to welcome Millie, Joe and Michael to the corporate team. The trio join a team committed to outstanding client service, and has a structured training programme that promotes development of all employees.

“We provide clear and understandable legal advice to businesses, and their owners, across a range of sectors, throughout the life cycle of the business on all their commercial, company and corporate finance matters.

“The firm currently has a strong pipeline of work and remains committed to recruiting outstanding corporate lawyers at all levels into the team.”

Wake Smith’s reputation for providing excellent corporate legal advice and services to its clients which include manufacturing and engineering companies, healthcare sector participants, and property development and regeneration businesses, is praised in the industry standard Legal 500 guide which highlighted the team as bringing creative thinking to the process.

In the last 12 months, the team has picked up a number of accolades including winning Yorkshire Business Insider’s Deal of the Year for £10m+ for its advice on the MBO of Sheffield-based designers and manufacturers of stainless steel building products, Wincro Metal Industries Ltd, while the Management Buy-In of historic packaging firm WK West Limited won Insider’s Deal of the Month for June 2023.

The team advises clients from start up, to trading to growth, onto reorganisation and exit including sales and purchases of businesses, demergers, MBOs/MBIs, partnerships, shareholder and partnership agreements, along with general corporate finance and funding matters.

Other specialisms include handling law firm mergers and partnership restructuring, intellectual property commercialisation and work with local charities and charitable incorporated organisations.

John Baddeley also has long standing experience in corporate transactions and commercial arrangements, leading the firm’s banking and finance team, one of the largest in Sheffield and South Yorkshire, handling transactional work and corporate refinancing.

The team also advises in the drafting of standard and bespoke facility documentation and security requirements, often bringing in other internal teams including commercial property and employment.