Corporate and Commercial: A year in review and looking ahead to 2025

In 2024, Tees's Corporate and Commercial team welcomed new members and  was  involved in transactions totalling more than £100 million. This comes in the face of widespread business uncertainty provoked by the budget and broader market forces, with revised figures indicating zero growth in the UK economy between July and September.

Some work highlights

In May, Tees advised the sole shareholder of GTES Holdings Limited (the holding company of GT Engine Services Limited) on the sale of their shares to STS Aviation Services. GTES offers a range of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services, working with some of the world’s leading aircraft repair and engine maintenance companies. Its acquisition by STS required experts in the corporate, commercial property and employment departments to work together to ensure the deal was completed on time.

Tees also acted for the sellers of a construction software company in a cross-border transaction further complicated by the need to secure approval under the National Security and Investment regime. The team worked tirelessly to ensure compliance with all regulatory requirements whilst liaising with lawyers in different time zones to ensure the transaction proceeded smoothly.

We also continued to advise clients on a range of commercial agreements. In addition to contracts for the supply of goods and services, we have also advised on an advertising licence for a ferry company and framework agreements for licensing intellectual property rights. The team’s flexibility and commercial acumen have allowed us to understand our client’s needs and then draft bespoke agreements that best protect our client’s commercial interests.

Our People

The team has continued to grow at all seniorities following Baljeet Kaur’s promotion to Partner in April 2023 before Partner Claire Powell joined the team in September 2023. The team increased to four partners with the arrival of Tracey Dickens in October 2024, whilst solicitor Nana Maisuradze joined, and trainee solicitor Charlie Neal qualified into the team in September.

This organic growth underscores Tees’ commitment to serving businesses in the wider Essex and Hertfordshire region.

Looking forward to 2025

Ahead of the budget, the team advised several clients on forming Employee Ownership Trusts, which provide a tax-efficient method of disposing of shares in a company. On Wednesday, 29 January 2025, Tracey Dickens will host a webinar looking at what makes Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) an attractive option for succession planning. Kingsley Tedder will join her from Mobius Group, and together they will discuss:

• some practical guidance on the process and key considerations;
•  the tax incentives for sellers and their company; 
• the structure and day-to-day operation of EOTs; and
• the traps to avoid.

2025 promises to be another busy year for the team with business owners looking to avoid the further increases to CGT by selling their interests before the 6 April deadline.

Head of department, Lucy Folley added that “2024 has been a fantastic year for the department with some complicated and exciting deals together with welcoming new team members. We are excited to return in the New Year and continue providing sound commercial and corporate advice to our clients.”

Meet the team:

Lucy Folley:

As Head of Corporate and Commercial, Lucy has over 20 years’ experience specialising in a range of corporate and commercial matters across several industry sectors, including M&A group restructuring, joint ventures and partnerships, MBOs, employee incentivisation schemes, finance and banking, and commercial agreements.

Tracey Dickens:

Having joined Tees in October 2024, Tracey brings with her two decades of experience in corporate and commercial matters including demergers, M&A, share restructuring, JVs, LLPs and partnerships, Employee Ownership Trusts and commercial agreements.

Claire Powell:

Claire joined the team in September 2023 and has over two decades of experience advising businesses on a range of commercial and corporate matters including joint ventures, reorganisations and mergers and acquisitions.

Baljeet Kaur:

Baljeet was appointed to the Tees Law partnership in April 2023 and specialises in mergers and acquisitions, disposals, management buy outs, joint ventures, financial restructuring and reorganisations, as well as company constitutional advice.

Natasha Bhandari:

Natasha joined the team in January 2021 as an Associate and has 4 years’ experience working within the corporate and commercial field. Natasha’s clients include SME’s, private equity companies, banks, large corporates and independently owned and managed businesses.

Nana Maisuradze:

Nana joined the corporate and commercial team in September 2024 and assists the team on various matters within the corporate and commercial field and is a dual-qualified lawyer qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales and as an advocate in Georgia.

Nana Poku:

Nana joined the team in March 2023 and provides key support to the team on a wide range of matters, including acquisitions and disposals, company restructurings, drafting constitutional documents, and advising on loan documentation.

Charlie Neal:

Charlie qualified in September 2024 following the completion of his training contract at Tees, spending two of his three training seats in the department, and brings over 2 years’ experience in the corporate and commercial field to the team.

Gabriella Cox:

Gabriella joined the team as a trainee in March 2024 having also spent time in the litigation and residential property departments. Gabriella supports the team with various corporate and commercial matters.

Alex Haines:

Alex joined the team as a trainee in September 2024, having spent time in various private client and business departments. Alex supports the team on numerous corporate and commercial matters and authoring articles highlighting changes to company law.