Andrew is a consultant in the Corporate team specialising in private equity, mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance transactions, including reconstructions and joint ventures, the establishment of investment funds, public and private fund raising, venture capital and private equity investments.
With over 35 years of experience in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other material transactions, he is skilled in dealing with transaction structuring, negotiating sale and purchase agreements and dealing with due diligence and disclosure. Having acted regularly for both buyers and sellers, he is well-placed to assess the issues which are likely to be significant for each party to a transaction.
He has acted in the establishment of a number of venture capital trusts and EIS funds and on related performance incentive and investment management arrangements and on numerous VCT, EIS and other investments.
As a Member of the Law Society’s standing committee on company law for 15 years Andrew led various Law Society working parties involved in responding to DTI and other consultation documents and was actively involved in the consultation process that culminated in the enactment of the Companies Act 2006. He also chaired working parties dealing with share capital issues and SMEs, and this role included regular meetings with the civil servants responsible for piloting the Bill through Parliament and advising on the specific drafting of the Act.
He is the author of Sales of Shares and Businesses, first published by Sweet & Maxwell in 2006 and now in its fifth edition.
A very big thanks from all of us at CPM Group for your very valued and skillful assistance you gave us in helping get the deal to the finishing line. With my hand on heart, you were brilliant.
Bob Smillie
Director, CPM Group
Expertise
- Corporate finance
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Takeovers
- Mergers
- Reconstructions
- Joint Ventures
- Private Equity and Venture Capital
Experience
Corporate finance
- Set up Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) for over 25 energy companies.
- Acted for in connection with a £30m cross-border re-financing.
- Acted for funds managed/advised by Triple Point Investment Management LLP in relation to investments in solar, hydro and other renewable energy projects, including transaction structuring, reviewing the commercial agreements and preparing and finalising the investment documents.
- Acted in the establishment of two investment funds with a combined value of approximately £45m.
Mergers and acquisitions
- Acted for City Hopper Airports (Blackpool) Limited in the acquisition of Blackpool Airport from Blackpool Borough Council and complex joint venture structures with the Council.
- Assisted GRS Roadstone Group Limited with the acquisition of S Walsh & Sons Ltd, London’s most successful and diverse companies serving the construction, quarrying and waste sectors.
Private equity and venture capital
- Acted for three secondary funds in the acquisition of two portfolios of private equity investments.
- Acted in over 150 private equity investments, in sectors as diverse as film distribution, solar, nanotechnology, and leisure.
- Acted for funds managed/advised by Octopus Investments Limited in making over 100 VCT/EIS investments in solar and anaerobic digestion companies, including transaction structuring advice and completion of the investment process.
Sales and disposals
- £25m disposal of IT recruitment business to a trade buyer.
- Acted in sale of aggregates business for £7m.
- Acted for the shareholders of CPM Group Acting on the sale of the business to Marshalls PLC.
- Acted for the shareholders of Crimson on the sale of the company to Harvey Nash Group plc, which involved helping to negotiate the sale terms and agreeing the sale and purchase agreement and related documents.
Other
- Reviewing contractual documentation for energy companies.
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Recognition
Recognised by The Legal 500 2024 for M&A: Smaller deals, £10M-£100M
Recognised by Best Lawyers (UK) in the practice area of Corporate Finance Law from 2015 – 2024
Recognised by The Legal 500 2021 for M&A: Smaller deals, up to £50M
“Having one go-to contact who was always there to answer your call/email was extremely efficient compared to other firms. An expert to help with every field of M&A (tax, options structuring) was available to us. Andrew Stilton wrote the bible on UK acquisitions and it is evident you are in the safest hands along every step of a process.” The Legal 500 2021
“Andrew Stilton is a joy to work with. His diligence is unwavering + his knowledge of UK M&A is second-to-none (having said that, one of the transactions I worked with him on was cross-border and his knowledge was equally unrivalled). Despite demanding circumstances, he always brings a sense of humour to the table.” The Legal 500 2021
Recognised by the Legal 500 2020 for M&A up to £50m
Recognised by the Legal 500 2018 for M&A up to £50m
Andrew Stilton is recognised by the Legal 500 2017
Andrew Stilton of Keystone Law is praised for his ability to analyse a situation and “deliver a sensible structure” to sophisticated transactions. Chambers 2015
Andrew was recommended in the Legal 500 2014 for Corporate M&A
Highly regarded by clients and peers, Andrew is described in the Chambers & Partners Directory as “measured and cerebral”, “recognised for his deft ability to rein in even the most difficult deals” and as someone who “can handle complex jobs in a thoroughly comprehensible way”.
Andrew authored Sale of Shares and Businesses – A Guide to Mergers and Acquisitions, first published by Sweet & Maxwell in 2006 (third edition 2012), and which is used in many jurisdictions throughout the world.
Career
Andrew qualified as a solicitor in 1981. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2014, he worked at SGH Martineau.