Ashfords

Lawyers 220
Turnover £48 million
Offices 5

This southwest-based firm advised the in-house legal team at Pennon, a water utility company based in Exeter, on its acquisition of Bristol Water Holdings UK in June. The company was valued at £814 million, but once its debts were factored in, Pennon paid £425 million in cash. The competition watchdog is examining whether the deal could reduce competition in the water industry.

Ashfords’s private wealth team recently handled an unusually complex administration of a private estate worth about £56 million, which involved the valuation and a claim for business property relief linked to a substantial shareholding in a private limited company.

The real estate team has handled a series of major transactions over the past year, including acting for DP World London Gateway, one of the largest logistics parks in the UK, on the letting of a 231,000 sq ft distribution centre to P&O Ferrymasters.