Nick Smith

Expertise

Nick has significant experience in national and international corporate finance, capital markets, private equity and mergers & acquisitions, with particular specialisms including real estate investment and finance, and telecoms and technology mergers & acquisitions.

Prior to joining the company, Nick was co-head of global investment bank Nomura’s London-based real estate investment group, a balance sheet multi-faceted real estate business (debt, mezzanine and equity) focusing on Europe, CEE, CIS and Russia.

Nick led the float of Gateley in 2015 and is responsible for the company’s acquisitions programme, being the acquisition for Gateley of complementary legal and non-legal businesses.

How do you help clients?

I have advised on and invested in deals in North America (some of my core clients and relationships have been in the US; I have worked in Chicago), Western Europe, CEE, Russia and Japan.

At Nomura I ran and developed a £2bn balance sheet Real Estate business. It operated initially as an asset-backed (principally real estate) finance business, designing and originating innovative transactions and offering a comprehensive (senior debt, mezzanine and minority equity) underwriting capability to clients and, as principal, for the bank.

My experience as principal enables me to understand the true value and risk in my clients' deals, and to provide a high-value and relevant service.

Experience

1. Advising on a series of transactions effecting the acquisition, refinancing and exit of Nomura’s debt and equity investment in the Earls Court & Olympia Group.
2. Advising on the acquisition and refinancing of a high-acuity, special education homes and schools business for children and adults.
3. Advising AT&T on a series of M&A deals over a number of years, including advising on the English aspects of its $10 billion ‘Concert’ global telecommunications joint venture with BT Plc and on the sale of its pan-European vehicle dealer management systems business to ADP Inc.
4. Advising on a series of transactions effecting the formation, financing and dissolution of the ‘Global Switch’ telehousing joint venture between Global Switch, Chelsfield Plc and TrizecHahn Corporation.
5. Led the float of Gateley Plc in 2015, the first full-service law firm to float.