Martin Smith

Partner | Corporate

Martin Smith is an experienced corporate lawyer. He has been ranked as a 'leading individual' by the Legal 500 in both the East Midlands and East Anglia and an 'expert' by Legal Business.

His association with DWS has been running for several years and has included the sale of a company holding the local Costa Coffee franchises and the sale of an app developer to an AIM listed company. More recently at DWS he has acted for a successful spin-out company from a local university and a large company which was sold to a US based VC. He has acted for a local wealth management company which has acquired two smaller wealth managers.

Having worked as a corporate finance executive in the merchant banking sector (in the corporate finance departments of both Lazard Brothers and Kleinwort Benson) he brings an unusually detailed financial and commercial understanding to getting his clients the right deal on the right terms. He read law at Merton College Oxford and undertook the London Business School corporate finance programme. He was head of corporate law at Harvey Ingram Owston in Leicester before becoming a partner at city firm djfreeman where he was a corporate partner in the media and technology department.

Significant deals have included AIM listings, a number of private equity deals and joint ventures, a major privatisation, the takeover of listed Oliver Group plc and the £75m contested takeover of fully-listed Eidos plc for SCi EntertainmentGroup plc. He has successfully concluded a large number of private equity and private company deals acting for both investors and management teams. He hasacted for business angels appearing on a well-known television programme.

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