Leading independent law firm Travers Smith LLP has announced the appointment of Will Yates as Head of Private Equity and Financial Sponsors, with effect from September 2024.
Will, who was previously deputy Head of Department, succeeds Lucie Cawood who has decided to retire from the partnership to focus on her family.
Will has been with the firm since 2007 and was promoted to partner in 2015. He is a corporate partner, specialising in international and domestic private equity and M&A transactions. His clients include corporates, institutional investors, alternative asset managers, senior management teams, founders and investee companies.
Will Yates commented:
"I am delighted to be taking over as head of the team and would like to thank Lucie for her considerable contribution at Travers Smith.
We have had a very busy start to the new financial year and we are excited and energised to drive the Private Equity business forward, and build on our enviable client base. Our dynamic and flexible approach, coupled with a focus on building long lasting relationships, puts us in a great position to pursue, alongside our valued clients, the many opportunities arising from current market dynamics, and to provide the right environment for a fulfilling and enjoyable career in the industry for our people."
Edmund Reed, Managing Partner commented:
"Congratulations to Will Yates on his appointment and thank you to Lucie Cawood for all she has done for the PEFS practice during her tenure – they have made a strong team leading the department together over the last couple of years and I have no doubt that Will, together with the other PEFS partners, will push forwards and grow our market share acting as trusted advisers to leading and established PE houses and other asset managers."
Recent highlight deals for the PEFS group include:
- Advising long-standing client Phoenix Equity Partners and management on the sale of Redington to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
- Advising August Equity Partners on its investment into Fargo Systems, a leading Transport Management System “TMS” SaaS software business.
- Advising Sixth Street Partners and Patron Capital on the £1.35bn acquisition of Cala Homes from Legal & General Group plc.
- Advising Long Ridge Equity Partners on its investment in QX Global Group, a leading provider of business process management services.
- Advising long-standing client Inflexion on its investment in GlobalData Plc's Healthcare division, a deal which won Transaction of the Year at the AIM Awards 2024.
- Advising ETC Group, a London-based crypto ETP issuer with over $1 billion in assets under management on its acquisition by Bitwise Asset Management, the largest crypto index fund manager in America.
- Advising the management team of Civica, a global provider of cloud software solutions for the public sector, on the sale of Civica by Partners Group to Blackstone.
- Advising Caledonia Investments plc on its acquisition of Direct Tyre Management, the UK’s leading independent provider of outsourced tyre management services to fleet operators.
