We used our experience of working with entrepreneurs to help the founders of a food business providing goods to UK high-street retailers as they sold their company. Our lawyers assisted with the commercial aspects of the sale to a private equity firm, handling complex UK remittance tax issues and US tax issues. We were also involved in our clients’ reinvestment in a new holding company.

With much of our history focused on acting for successful individuals, families and entrepreneurs, we are not afraid to go up against large financial institutions. In one complex case, we acted against one of the largest UK banks in a dispute relating to a loan for the development of a household name supermarket, and the use of an interest rate swap to ‘hedge’ the loan.

Italian company Newlat specialises in distribution for the agro-food sector, offering a large point of sale network across Italy and further abroad. Withers offered advice to Netlat to assist during their acquisition of a manufacturing plant in Ozzano Taro, Italy from Heinz.

Sometimes our litigators’ biggest successes lie in avoiding litigation. At one stage, it seemed that there was no way for an Italian winemaker we represented to avoid a costly court battle after it terminated its longstanding US importer. However, through careful strategic decisions we were able to ease its transition from working with the US partner to its own recently formed affiliate without seeing the inside of a court room.

We completed the formation and private offering of a US micro-venture capital fund focusing on the business-to-business digital marketplace and have advised on its investments in three portfolio companies: a platform providing athletes and parents with a suite of online tools to streamline the recruiting process; a platform providing restaurants with a trained food delivery staff and system as well as an app which communicates orders received by restaurants; and a platform that allows manufacturers and distributors in the IT sector to communicate with resellers of their products.

We acted for the largest hypermarket retailer in the United Kingdom in relation to its real estate acquisition and leasing matters in the PRC.

We assisted a group of foreign investors with acquiring the largest wine estate and hotel facility in Tuscany, which included corporate due diligence in several jurisdictions and the setting up of the right tax structure for an Italian Special Vehicle company. We continue to assist with further purchases of land for the expansion of the winery.

We represented investors investing in a high-end Italian food market chain comprised of restaurants and food stations in New York, Chicago and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

We advised a leading Italian and international wine producer in a joint venture with a leading Italian food brand for the establishment of a chain of wine bars in the US, Europe, and Japan through a combination of owner-managed and franchise units.

We provided comprehensive and strategic advice to various leading Italian and French wine producers in connection with entering into international distribution arrangements in the USA, Canada and Northern Europe.

We provided guidance to a European winery at every step in the process of establishing its international operations.

We managed the trade mark portfolio of a leading Italian wine manufacturer.

We represented an individual in their investment in a California limited liability company that is in the business of owning, developing and managing citrus groves in California.

We advised a leading European venture capital fund on its minority investment in various US start-up food and beverage companies.

We structured investment by a private equity fund into a leading diet brand and related asset reorganisation to monetise 70% of founder equity.

We handled employment matters for a high-end vintner, including the development of templates for employee offer letters and confidentiality restraints, and developing managed-risk employee terminations.

We advised a Middle Eastern specialty food start-up on IP and US tax structuring and distribution arrangements for their expansion into the US.

We advised a UK-based luxury group of private hotels, restaurants, and private members' clubs in the disposition of a majority stake of the company to a US-based investment fund.

A family office, based in Florida, USA, carrying out an underlying investment in the Venezuelan dairy sector sought our advice on the deal.

Advised an international beer manufacturer on trademark infringement in Singapore.

Managed the trademark portfolio of a leading Italian wine manufacturer.

Assisted an Italian wine consortium established to protect and help the producers of a local wine in proceedings brought by a number of shareholders challenging the alleged unlawfulness of a decision made by the shareholders' meeting. We also assisted the consortium in interim proceedings brought by a shareholder to have a shareholders' decision stayed until the final decision in the merits. The assistance has been challenging since consortia are only lightly regulated under Italian Law and case-law is very limited.

Assisted a wine producer in connection with the possible replacement of the minority shareholder of its subsidiary. Our advice included: negotiation of the buyback of the shareholding from the minority shareholder (a private equity fund based in Luxembourg), negotiation with the potential new investors, drafting and preparation of the new shareholders' agreement with the new investor and drafting of the ancillary agreements (e.g. distribution agreements with wineries out of the transaction perimeter).

Assisted the majority shareholder of one of the most prestigious Italian wine producers with the planning and restructuring of their Group, which entails corporate governance and share ownership aspects, as well as an inheritance perspective. There are considerable real assets involved. Our advice focuses mainly on the drafting and implementing of a framework agreement and ancillary documents, such as a complex shareholders agreement

Assisted a family-owned group leader in the collection and processing of grains and oil seeds for foods, animal feeds and industrial use with the reorganisation of the parent company and its Italian and foreign subsidiaries as well as on a complex project related to the generational transition of the group ownership and governance, which comprises several company, tax and inheritance law aspects. The project entailed the intra group transfer of a major real estate asset and a cross border de-merger of two Romanian subsidiaries.