Joint Ventures

We support clients in establishing and managing joint ventures, including advising international clients investing in the UK through joint venture arrangements.

Our approach is based on a deep understanding of the commercial drivers and practical realities that shape our clients’ businesses.

This allows us to advise not only during the negotiation and documentation stages but also on the operation and management of the joint venture structure as the business evolves.

We encourage our clients to give careful thought at the critical establishment stage to the foundations of their alignment and to consider how that alignment may change over time. This includes planning for potential outcomes such as a trade sale to a third party, one party acquiring the other’s interest, the introduction of a new investor or the venture evolving towards operating independently of investor control. It is essential that joint venture deadlock is addressed in a way that preserves, rather than undermines, shareholder value.

Recent experience

• Advising IJM, one of Malaysia’s leading conglomerates and listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad with a market capitalisation of £2bn, in relation to its subscription for 50% of the share capital of JRL Group, a privately owned, UK-based diversified construction group, for £50m. This strategic investment furthers IJM’s expansion into the United Kingdom and strengthens its core construction capabilities.
• Acting for the owners of global restaurant brands on the sale of an equity interest for $160M and subsequent joint venture.
• Advising a private members club on its global expansion and joint venture arrangements with local partners.
• Providing English law advice on the structuring and joint venture establishment of a Luxembourg special limited partnership.
• Advising on numerous real estate joint ventures across multiple asset classes, often working closely with our Real Estate team on asset management and development arrangements and associate promote.