Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) lawyers

Get experienced support on M&A transactions

Our mergers and acquisitions lawyers cover the entire country with teams in Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Newcastle.

We act for both buyers and business owners in a wide range of industry sectors on M&A transactions, ranging from strategic acquisitions to entrepreneurs selling or exiting their businesses.

Our clients include larger corporates and listed companies, owner-managed businesses, SMEs and individual shareholders.

Schedule a call with an M&A expert

How our M&A solicitors can help you

We advise on national and international M&A deals of any size, ranging in value from less than £5 million to up to £100 million or more.

Our M&A expertise includes:

Share sales and purchases
Business and assets transactions
Management buy-outs and buy-ins (MBOs and MBIs)
Buy and build transactions
Strategic acquisitions and disposals
Cross border transactions
UK and EU merger control
Group restructurings and accelerated M&A.

Our approach to M&A transactions

We pride ourselves on delivering the right deal for you and we will pull out all the stops to make it happen within your timetable and your budget. We call on the national capability of the firm with regional understanding, involving our specialist teams from across the firm.

We have specialist mergers and acquisitions lawyers in all of the areas that even the most complex transactions might require including:

We take the time at the start of any client relationship to make sure that we fully understand your business and needs to collaboratively achieve your objectives on any transaction. We want our clients to see us as part of their wider commercial team. We have acted for many of our clients for years, if not decades.

We always aim to give straightforward, simple, pragmatic advice to help you get the deal done on the right terms.

On sale mandates we work closely with owners and advisors ideally getting involved some time before the transaction to prepare the ground with a pre-sale legal health check to unearth and resolve any problems. We can also review ownership structures to ensure the owners can take advantage of any tax planning opportunities.

When we act for buyers we assist with genuinely focussed due diligence, working closely with other advisors throughout to understand the target business and how the buyer can make the most of the acquisition opportunity. We provide a tailored reporting service in a user friendly format to assist with post deal integration.

Free consultation

Ready for the next step? Talk to one of our expert mergers and acquisitions solicitors.

Book your free consultation

International M&A deals

Our mergers and acquisitions solicitors regularly act for listed and non-listed foreign corporates and multinationals looking to acquire or dispose of businesses in the UK, ensuring in particular, that differences in local law and M&A practice and market standards in the clients' home jurisdiction are explained at the outset.

On international merger and acquisition deals involving overseas companies and assets, we actively coordinate and work closely with colleagues in Legalink, our global network of leading independent law firms. Legalink covers more than 70 jurisdictions across the world.

Some of our recent M&A transactions

Recent M&A transactions include:

advising Sonoco, a NYSE listed packaging company, on their competitive bid purchase of US company Thermoform and its English sister company Plastique Holdings for US$187M
sale of the Quick Release (Automotive) group to Alten Europe SARL (a French listed company)
sale of the online freelancer and contractor business of commercial insurance broker Caunce O’Hara to Markel UK
the acquisition of the UK operations of Alithya by ANS Group
acting for the founders on the sale of a controlling stake in Fun Learning Studios Limited (t/a Toddler Fun Learning) to Moonbug Entertainment Limited
advising clinical drug development business Pharmaserve (North west) Development Company Limited, a subsidiary of OBG Pharmaceuticals Limited, on the acquisition of the business and certain assets of Impopharma Inc. of Ontario, Canada
acting for the shareholders on the sale of the entire issued share capital of The Real Pork Crackling Group of Companies to snack food giant Tayto Group
acting for Camerons Brewery on the acquisition of the Bar Soba Group
advising on the Palatine private equity backed management buy-out of Lucion Services.

Free consultation

Ready for the next step? Talk to one of our expert mergers and acquisitions solicitors.

Book your free consultation

Our other corporate law services

Accolades

Who we have dealt with on the sale of our business have been exceptional they support you every step of the way, they always make themselves available to speak with you and fully support you in all areas to make sure it runs smoothly.
Legal 500, 2026
Superb collaboration between the teams making selling a business far more cohesive.
Legal 500, 2026
I have been impressed with all staff I have dealt with at Weightmans. Above all they are humans and treat other professionals and more importantly clients as individuals sharing their personal experience to guide clients through usually very tricky times.
Legal 500, 2026
They are extremely adept and can manage nuances around early stage finance deals. They don't just deal with the issue, they take hold of the full legal aspect when required.
Chambers & Partners 2026
Their strengths are their knowledge, research and attention to detail. They left absolutely no stone unturned.
Chambers & Partners 2026
They go above and beyond in making sure that the clients know what's going on and they retain a very good relationship with them.
Chambers & Partners 2026
Worked with the Corporate team at Weightmans for a long time now, and they continue to support us in all aspects of our business. They have a great ethos that is pragmatic and deal focused. What has set them apart for me is their understanding of the business as a whole, they are interested in our business and how it operates which allows them to give us far more valuable advice.’
Legal 500 2026
The firm really understands our business so our engagements with the team are seamless. We work with a really super team with excellent experience and different approaches.
Chambers 2025
The team provides great technical ability whilst importantly seeing things from a very practical and commercial viewpoint, seeking solutions rather than just highlighting risks.
Legal 500 2026
They take a commercial and pragmatic approach whilst having the technical knowledge expected of a high-quality law firm.Nothing was too much trouble for the Weightmans team and they made the complicated process simple and seamless.Weightmans offers transparency, constant updates and the feeling of a one-to-one service.The Weightmans team is technically excellent, easy to deal with and very responsive.They offer pragmatism and approachability, understanding the requirements and challenges at hand.
Chambers & Partners 2026
The team at Weightmans offers pragmatic and commercially sound advice. They ensure the deal outcome meets the objectives of all parties. It's a commercially savvy and wise team.
Chambers 2025
Weightmans understands how we work and has adapted to our way of working.
Chambers 2025
Weightmans understands the potential challenges that arise and explains them in simple terms. They offer solutions that are simple and executable and have very strong knowledge and experience.
Chambers 2025
The Weightmans team took a pragmatic approach, focusing on the commercial risk and ensuring that the client was protected appropriately.
Chambers 2025
Weightmans do a great job. They look after clients and always deliver. They're a proactive firm with good communication. The whole team is strong.
Chambers 2025
Weightmans brought a pragmatic, commercial approach supported by high technical ability.
Chambers 2025
Weightmans has a well-resourced team. They give quick responses and are good with clients - I can't fault their client service.
Chambers 2025
Their support and guidance through the process was excellent, including their knowledge of our business.
Chambers 2025