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James is a Partner in the Corporate team with over 15 years of experience of advising on all aspects of corporate finance work with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, investments, reorganisations and restructurings.

As a Legal 500 recommended lawyer, James  is experienced in advising clients with different corporate finance requirements across the growth curve with James enjoying long term relationships with investors and owners of large corporates and SMEs seeking investment, acquisitions or an exit across a a broad spectrum of industry sectors, including independent healthcare, energy and disruptive technologies.

James leads the care home team at Ward Hadaway.

Experience

Recent transactions James has been involved with includes :

  • Advising the Springfield Healthcare Group on all corporate matters, including in respect of investment from BGF Investments and its acquisition mandates
  • Advising Pacifica Group in respect of raising of investment from Synova Capital and its ongoing acquisition mandates
  • Advising Express Engineering on all corporate matters, including in respect of investment from LDC and the recent the disposal of its aerospace business to Paralloy
  • Advising BGF Investments in respect of its investment in Cooplands, the UK’s third largest bakery chain,
  • Advising the shareholders of Profound Group on their sale to Learning Curve
  • Advising a national energy provider on receipt of equity investment and ongoing corporate matters
  • Advising the shareholders of Horizon Platforms on the transition to an employee ownership trust
  • Advising leading UK online garage marketplace comparison website whocanfixmycar.com on fundraisings from Active Capital and Shell

 

What people say

  • The key individuals we deal with at senior level is through James Nightingale. I find James hugely accessible and he provides professional advice alongside an approach which feels supportive and comfortable. In a challenging period for all industries, the firm has maintained a good contact throughout where possible, which leaves them best placed as people who understand our business

    Legal 500
  • The key individuals we deal with at senior level are through James Nightingale. I find James hugely accessible and he provides professional advice alongside an approach which feels supportive and comfortable. In a challenging period for all industries, the firm has maintained good contact throughout where possible, which leaves them best placed as people who understand our business.

    Legal 500
  • Their team is led by James Nightingale, partner, who leads on all matters. This ensures a professional and highly competent service which understands our legal requirements. They understand how we like to do business and James and all of his team are very personable and give excellent service.

    Legal 500, Client quote
  • I trust James Nightingale's advice and judgement implicitly. He offers challenge where and when appropriate, works well to deadlines and makes himself available whenever required. James, and his team, offer an attentive level of service and care, hence why we have remained in partnership for such a long time.

    Ben Hirst, Chief Executive, Horizon Platforms
  • On receipt of a multi million pound offer to sell Profound Group it was paramount that we secured the right skills and experience needed to guide us through the process. Having been approached by several leading law firms, James Nightingale and his Corporate Team at Ward Hadaway were engaged. James and his team did not disappoint! James proved to be accessible, diligent and pragmatic. And above all, fully committed and commercially focused. It was evident at the outset that we were in safe hands. Thank you to James and his team for providing such high professional standards and for guiding us through the entire legal process. Your services are highly valued.

    Steven Ward, Former Managing Director, Profound Group
  • We have used James’ services for a number of years at Springfield Healthcare Group. He fully understands our requirements as a group, he understands the way we do business, which I think is very important in any transaction, and he deals very positively with our other stakeholders. He is very amenable, hard-working and has always delivered for Springfield. We have built up a real element of trust over the years and I view James as a friend and confidant thanks to our long-standing business relationship.

    Graeme Lee, CEO, Springfield Healthcare Group
  • James Nightingale and the team at Ward Hadaway did an excellent job on the sale of the company. Their advice was clear and concise and helped the deal to progress smoothly.

    Bryan Hall, Founder, Bryan G Hall Limited
  • James Nightingale and the team at Ward Hadaway provided excellent support and advice throughout the MBO process. They always kept us fully up to speed with developments and their experience and commercially-focused approach was invaluable.

    Dan Beishon, Managing Director, Process Combustion Limited