Joel Kelly

Senior Associate

Past and present projects

• Advising the vendor on the sale of a Kent coast-based manufacturer of precast concrete products to a market leader in the manufacture and supply of concrete drainage systems in the UK.
• Advising a minority shareholder on a High Court unfair prejudice action.
• Advising a national high-street bank on the structured purchase (through Isle of Man incorporated special purpose vehicles) of land in Oxfordshire for residential development.
• Advising the issuer on the flotation of a City-based insurance brokerage group on the London Stock exchange's AIM market. 
• Advising the management vendors on the disposal of a 'Tech-track 100' listed IT network support business to one of the UK's leading providers of building services, mechanical, electrical IT and maintenance solutions.
• Advising a national high-street bank in relation to the majority financing of the management buy out of a nationally recognised waterproof clothing manufacturer.
• Advising the vendors on the disposal of a long-established IT network security provider to the UK subsidiary of a listed South African IT software solutions provider by way of recommended takeover of and (subsequently) a compulsory share purchase pursuant to sections 980 et seq of the Companies Act 2006.
• Advising the purchaser on the acquisition of the branded plastic products manufacturing divisions of a leading AIM-listed provider of power supply solutions and other electronic products.
• Advising the boards of governors of leading local schools in connection with the conversion of those schools to academies under the Academies Act 2010.

Profile

Joel joined the firm in January 2009 having spent two years with another regional law firm in the south east of England. Before this he trained, qualified and then spent two further years working in the corporate department at City firm Slaughter and May.

Joel specialises in corporate law advice and has advised on a broad spectrum of transactions, ranging from large equity capital markets and public mergers and acquisitions transactions to smaller private equity investments and debt financings. Joel also advises business owner-managers in relation to shareholders' agreements, minority shareholder actions, private acquisitions and disposals of both shares and assets, joint ventures and discrete points of corporate governance and regulation. Since mid-2010, Joel has been building upon his education sector expertise and has advised the boards of governors of local schools in connection with their conversion to academy status under the coalition government's Academies Act.

In his spare time, Joel is an avid mountain biker and motorcyclist. Joel recently completed the '3 Peaks Challenge' in under 24 hours in aid of local charities.