Your challenges
Businesses involved in the food industry from “plough to plate” face a range of challenges that are specific to the industry. These include the need to comply with health and safety and food safety legislation, increasingly onerous and far reaching compliance regimes covering ethical, carbon reduction and food miles objectives among others and, of course, in the background the potential for huge reputational and business risk arising from “food scares” and product recalls.
Our food and beverages team members are familiar with these issues and can help you to keep track of the legal and regulatory requirements and provide robust and practical advice to guide you when you need it.
Achieving your ambitions
Our food and beverages team is cross disciplinary and can help you to achieve your ambitions whether through mergers or acquisitions, joint venture arrangements, robust supply structures or measures to limit trading risks. The team’s industry experience means that team members will have an appreciation of the commercial imperatives which apply in the industry and will tailor advice to provide practical and workable solutions.
The strength you need
Mills & Reeve are structured along sector lines and food and beverages is a key sector for the firm.
The team is led by Craig Hodgson, corporate finance partner, and includes specialist lawyers from corporate finance, commercial, employment, regulatory, dispute resolution and real estate all of whom advise food industry clients ranging from producers, through packers and processors to brewers and supply chain logistics companies.
Recent experience
Mills & Reeve have recently acted for:
- Management of the Weetabix Food Company on a major investment from Bright Food. Bright Food has acquired 60% of the share capital of Weetabix for an enterprise value of £1.2 billion.
- Langholm Capital on the acquisition of Purity Soft Drinks.
- Adnams Plc on the establishment of an anaerobic digester facility and an acquisition of a hotel.
- Shareholders in the sale of Bowes of Norfolk Limited to Cranswick Country Foods Plc.
- Starbev on a complex mult-jurisdictional reorganisation following its acquisition by CVC Capital Partners from ABI InBev.
Typical advice includes advising clients on:
- Acquisitions and disposals.
- Joint ventures designed to consolidate supply of certain produce categories to key customers.
- Cost reduction programmes and in particular on related employment issues.
- Security of payment issues arising from the withdrawal of credit insurance and the structuring of supply arrangements to reduce non-payment risks against that background.
- Competition issues arising from trading practices and pricing policies.
- Assisting with the resolution of disputes arising from contractual default including enforcement of title reservation and security rights.
Lawyers you can trust
Many of the lawyers in the team are highly rated by legal directories such as Legal 500 and Chambers UK. The team includes individuals described as “diligent, friendly and professional”.