Manufacturing

A very effective team: attentive, professional, and always on the ball.

Our Manufacturing Solicitors have a long history of providing specialist advice to companies in the sector. Our highly informed, energetic and meticulous team successfully advises a diverse range of businesses, from large-scale industrials to small, highly-focussed start-ups. Our impressive track record speaks for itself.

International work for clients forms an important part of what we do. We act for UK and international clients, undertaking cross-border transactions and international investment activities, and we advise foreign companies that have UK subsidiaries or branches, or are looking to establish these.

Why Michelmores? We look to build long-term relationships with our clients and always work to understand their business so that our advice is delivered within context, as well as on time and on budget. Our specialist, multi-disciplinary team shares a passion for the sector and keeping up-to-date with developments in it.

Michelmores is a main sponsor of the Made in the South West Awards and the Exeter Initiative for Science and Technology (ExIST).

Recent experience

Advising St Austell Brewery on the acquisition of Bath Ales Limited, including: the brewery, its portfolio of beer brands and its 11-strong pub estate.

Advising the Graphic Group on the acquisition of Calflex USA, Graphic’s multi-million joint venture in China and the acquisition of Printra in Denmark.

Advising Tods Aerospace & Defence Limited on the sale of the business and assets to US-based private equity group AGC Aerospace & Defence.

Advising the management team on the management buyout (MBO) of Aero Stanrew Limited, one of the UK’s leading designers and manufacturers of specialist electronic components for the global aerospace industry.

Advising a leading watersports equipment manufacturer on its key manufacturing relationship in Asia. Reviewing terms of clients’ existing distributorship arrangements and assisting with project to appoint new local partners to rationalise the client’s routes to market worldwide.

Advising a construction/engineering apparatus manufacturer on a dispute with an infringer who had registered a domain name that included our client’s trade mark. Following our intervention, the infringer has now agreed to transfer the domain name to our client.

Successfully guiding a large, multi-national manufacturer through the employment aspects of the closure of one of its UK factories, and a major restructuring at another site.

Supporting a UK/Australian household products group in successfully enforcing its registered and unregistered intellectual property rights against multiple infringers (including UK retailers) in Europe and China.

Providing strategic advice to a manufacturer on the establishment of an appropriate employee-representative forum, to work alongside a recognised union.

Advising international toy and infant product company on key local partnering agreements across Europe and MENA, rationalising existing distributorship relationships in order to create a clearer two tier system, with key partners operating as local hubs to manage smaller stockists.

KEY CONTACTS
David Thompson
David Thompson
Partner
TEAM
Richard Cobb
Richard Cobb
Senior Partner
Tim Richards
Tim Richards
Managing Partner
Tom Torkar
Tom Torkar
Partner
Jonny Lane
Jonny Lane
Associate
Charlie Gauntlett
Charlie Gauntlett
Associate
David Thompson
David Thompson
Partner
Anne Todd
Anne Todd
Partner
Philippa Collison
Philippa Collison
Senior Associate