United Kingdom & Europe

Our United Kingdom (UK) and Europe practice is headquartered in London, the firm’s third largest office and the hub of the international practice. We also have an office in Geneva and strong partnerships and relationships with leading local law firms throughout Europe. This has resulted in the growth of a full service and fully integrated international practice advising clients at the top of their respective markets across time zones and jurisdictions.

We advise clients on complex high-value matters in relation to financial restructurings, corporate and equity capital markets, debt finance, special situations & private credit, project finance, energy & renewables, private equity, management incentives, litigation & international arbitration, financial services regulatory, investment management, lobbying & public policy, EU/UK competition, international trade and tax.

Our Geneva office advises government and private-sector clients on a wide range of international regulatory issues, such as trade, climate change, intellectual property (IP), health and innovation and represents sovereigns and private parties in international litigation.

Representative Matters

Advised VIP II Blue BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vitol Investment Partnership II Ltd (VIP II), in its $2.3-billion takeover of Vivo Energy Plc, by way of scheme of arrangement.
A multidisciplinary, cross-jurisdictional Akin team advised the ad hoc committee of noteholders in relation to the financial restructuring and outstanding debt liabilities of London Stock Exchange (LSE)-listed Nostrum Oil & Gas plc, an independent oil and exploration & production company in northwest Kazakhstan.
Advised the global energy and sustainability advisory firm Edison Energy on its acquisition of the international energy and sustainability consultancy Alfa Energy. The deal allowed Edison to further expand its impact and offering as it continues to support some of the world’s largest and mid-market corporate, industrial and institutional businesses.

Advised Elliott on its claim against the London Metal Exchange (LME) for the almost half-billion-dollar loss Elliott suffered by virtue of the LME’s unprecedented decision retrospectively to cancel nickel trades entered into the early hours of 8 March 2022.
Advised Nexperia pursuant to section 26 of the National Security and Investment Act 2021, which required Nexperia (amongst other things) to divest its majority shareholding in Nexperia Newport Limited.
Advised Helios Investment Partners, the largest Africa-focused private investment firm, on the completion of the sale of Solevo, a leading African distributor of speciality chemicals, to Development Partners International (DPI).
Advised Coller Capital on an $829-million general partner (GP)-led secondary transaction for Permira IV, a closed private equity fund.
Advised Discover Exploration, backed by funds advised by Carlyle, on its acquisition of an upstream oil & gas company with exploration, appraisal and development assets offshore the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.
Advised the European development finance institutions British International Investment (BII), Norfund and Finnfund on the subscription agreements for their investment in The African Forestry Impact Platform (AFIP) for $200 million.
Advised Adelis Equity Partners on a major GP-led secondary.
Advised on the applicability of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules to trade-restrictive policies of various governments and assisted in seeking US or foreign government action in connection with potential WTO violations.
Represented the private sector and governments in connection with WTO dispute cases and advised clients about the possible impact of WTO rulings and other bilateral and multilateral negotiations on their industry.
Handled governments’ WTO disputes and helped them build internal capacity to engage in future disputes more independently.