Our People

Ella is a Partner who specialises in corporate transactions and company law.  Ella advises shareholders and directors at all stages in the business life-cycle; from startups and scaleups through to restructuring, succession planning and exit strategies.

Working with businesses in a wide range of sectors, many of her clients are involved in leisure and tourism, engineering, manufacturing, and property development. Ella also acts for regulated businesses involved in insurance, financial and professional services, often playing a lead role in multi-million pound transactions.

Ella typically advises clients on:

• mergers and acquisitions;
• management buy-ins and buy-outs;
• business disposals, both share and asset sales;
• creating and restructuring corporate groups including share exchanges and share buybacks, often for consolidation or risk and value management;
• structuring a new business venture, and drafting the shareholder agreement and articles of association;
• agreements with investors, whether banks or venture capital, and protecting either the interests of minority shareholders or the investor;
• re-finances, lending/borrowing and security documentation;
• EMI and other non-qualifying share incentive schemes, including growth share schemes; and
• joint venture agreements.

Ella is known for her ‘meticulous planning’ and ability to ensure deals complete within tight timeframes. Clients also appreciate the fact that she keeps them informed of progress on a regular basis.

Recent example of deals which Ella has advised on include:

• the sale of a hotel and leisure company, valued at £150 million, to a private equity firm where Ella led on the due diligence and managed the ancillary documentation throughout the transaction, successfully meeting a critical timetable;
• a £40 million group restructuring exercise for an international insurance sector company with operations in Eire, Malta, the USA, and a number of other offshore jurisdictions; and
• advising on EMI schemes and other employee incentives such as growth shares, including the different classes of shares and the rights attached to each class, and documenting these share arrangements.

Outside the office

Ella enjoys going for runs around Bournemouth, skiing, playing touch rugby and making the most of the local beaches in the summer. Ella also holds the RYA Powerboat (Level 2).