Shoosmiths’ focused restructuring delivers results
updated on 29 October 2024
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Shoosmiths has seen a surge in complex deals, positioning itself as “the most active corporate law firm in the UK and Europe” having advised on more than $5 billion worth of deals in the first five months of 2024.
Examples of Shoosmiths’ recent work include advising Hipgnosis Songs Fund on its takeover bid from US private equity investor Blackstone and the corporate team advising FOSROC on its conditional sale to Saint-Gobain for approximately $1.25 billion.
The firm’s strategy is built on three main pillars (ie, corporate, real estate and litigation) and targets the following five key sectors: technology, financial services, energy, infrastructure and mobility. Shoosmiths’ CEO David Jackson said the Labour government's "five missions aligned perfectly with our five sectors, so clearly we called that right".
Over the past two years, and as part of the strategy, Shoosmiths has been focusing on restructuring its teams and building a clearer structure to achieve its objectives for 2030. The firm’s chair, Kirsten Hewson, explained that it’s built its teams “with much more clarity” – for example, the law firm’s new private equity team now focuses on “higher level private equity work, which they’ve started to do”.
Meanwhile, Jackson highlighted the firm’s focus on “high-stakes litigation”. He added: “You won’t find us doing the kind of mundane, relatively low value commercial litigation. We are investing much more in specialist litigation teams, focused on the sector areas where we can bring genuine value to our clients.”
Shoosmiths has appeared in notable litigation cases this year, including representing Craig Wright in the ‘bitcoin case’ and being involved in the ongoing Russian aviation litigation.
The firm's strategy has proven successful so far, with revenue surpassing £200 million for the first time in July, a 6% increase from the previous year, profits having risen by 5% to £66 million and equity partners taking home more than £780,000 in profit.
