What can I do for you?
I’m an associate in our corporate group, specialising in mergers and acquisitions, and am also part of our private healthcare team. Working together with clients, we make deals happen, give informed advice on company and business sales/acquisitions, joint ventures, management buy outs and reorganisations. As part of one of the UK’s leading healthcare law firms and largest corporate teams, I lead our volume acquisitions team. I work closely with corporate dentistry chain, Oasis Healthcare, to assist them with their acquisition strategy of buying up dental practices throughout the UK.
Supporting my clients’ ambitions
We recently worked through the night to ensure we completed a strategic acquisition before a client’s year end. At the eleventh hour, it transpired that the seller had no witness for his signature of sale documents. Various policemen who were approached for help refused to assist as witnesses so we restructured the transactional documents to give an effective date of the year end despite completion having to wait for an available witness.
We also recently advised on a significant disposal to a quoted logistics group. The transaction, as originally proposed, collapsed when the buyer was unable to meet our clients’ demands for a market price. By careful restructuring of the transaction, we met the concerns of the buyer in relation to key customers of the company allowing our clients to exit at a critical stage of the economic cycle.
I recently acted for Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Limited (CKI), the Hong Kong listed infrastructure company, on its sale of Cambridge Water plc to HSBC Bank plc. CKI is the largest publicly listed infrastructure company in Hong Kong and is part of the Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa group of companies. The sale of Cambridge Water had to be completed to a very tight timescale to enable a consortium, led by CKI, to launch a recommended takeover bid for Northumbrian Water Group plc (NWG), the UK listed water company. The completion of the sale of Cambridge Water plc needed to take place prior to the launch of the bid for NWG due to the operation of the UK water regulations. The CKI consortium's offer values NWG's issued share capital at approximately £2.4 billion.
I frequently act for family shareholders in selling businesses that have been in the family for years. I understand well the emotional and business issues at stake and how to ease the sales process for first time sellers.
What do others say?
Legal 500 says: “’Head and shoulders above the rest’ of the competition, Mills & Reeve continues to occupy a near unassailable position in the local corporate marketplace. Given its depth of resources and extensive regional coverage, it is clearly the biggest fish in the East Anglian pond. Peers say they would not hesitate to refer work to the practice, while clients acclaim the ‘advice that is perfectly tailored to our business aims’."
Chambers UK described me as “’one to watch’. Natalie is widely regarded by clients as ‘someone who makes deals happen’, a ‘resounding success’ and ‘incredibly competent’”.
What else should you know?
I take a fresh approach to corporate transactions, focusing on practical, solution driven advice and keeping the commercial drivers of the deal at the forefront. My aim is always to deliver a deal on time and on budget while maintaining a sense of humour. I enjoy business development and regularly work with colleagues in different teams in striving to win new clients for the firm.