Burges Salmon has been shortlisted in three categories at The Lawyer Awards 2022, including ‘Corporate Team of the Year’, ‘Real Estate Team of the Year,’ and ‘Best Client Service Innovation’.
The Lawyer Awards set the industry standard for benchmarking and celebrate the best teams and best practice in innovation in the legal industry. The Awards judging panel includes included industry experts from The Bar, Private Practice and in-house sectors.
Corporate Team of the Year
Burges Salmon has been shortlisted in this category for the firm’s Corporate and Financial Services sector M&A teams advising long-standing client Embark Group on its £390 million sale to Lloyds Banking Group. The firm advised Embark on all legal aspects of the transaction, which saw Lloyds acquire Embark Group Limited and its subsidiary brands for a consideration of £390 million for the whole share capital of the Embark business. The sale excluded the Rowanmoor SIPP and SSAS administration business, which were retained by Embark’s existing shareholders.
Real Estate Team of the Year
The firm has received this shortlisting for working alongside the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) as the principal legal provider to the Fusion Foundations programme, to create the structures under which the UK’s fusion energy agenda can prosper. In June 2021, Canada’s General Fusion Inc announced that it would build and operate its new Fusion Demonstration Plant (FDP) at the UKAEA Culham Campus near Oxford. As part of the deal, General Fusion will enter into a long-term lease with UKAEA following construction of the new facility. Burges Salmon is advising UKAEA on the project, with real estate being the key enabler of the transaction.
Best Client Service Innovation
The shortlisting in this category acknowledges Burges Salmon’s innovative tax App, which helps the firm’s clients – at no cost – work out whether they are tax-resident in the UK. Conceived by members of the firm’s Tax, Trusts, and Family team, and Innovation team, the App is designed to help clients understand the UK’s Statutory Residence Test. Users complete a simple questionnaire and receive an instant indication of likely residence status, along with a more detailed explanation. The App can also be used to plan future residency and keep track of UK visits, with this information emailed directly to the user.
Roger Bull, Burges Salmon’s Managing Partner, comments: “Receiving recognition through being shortlisted in these three categories is testament to the extremely high quality of work that we continue to conduct for our clients across a range of teams. These categories will, as always, be hotly contested and we wish all those involved the very best of luck.”
The winners will be announced in at The Lawyer Awards on 21 June in London.