Simon Ward

Partner

Simon is a corporate lawyer. His focus is on private capital and providing advice to clients in private company M&A, private equity and venture capital.

As a leading advisor in private capital he acts on:

Private company mergers & acquisitions
Co-investment and direct investment for family offices
Private equity buy outs and venture capital investments representing founders, senior executives and management teams, and
Inbound investments and acquisitions for international investors and acquirers.

Simon has a strong interest in the inbound work between the US and the UK and travels to the US on a regular basis to meet clients and other professionals to speak on UK private capital and direct investment.

Prior to joining Farrer & Co, Simon was a senior associate at Mallesons Stephen Jacques (now King & Wood Mallesons) in Sydney. He obtained an in-depth knowledge of the international private equity market, acting for sellers, acquiring funds and management teams on both leveraged and non-leveraged buy outs.

Simon qualified as a solicitor in 2002.

Expertise

Businesses

Simon leads the firm’s practice advising Businesses. He advises on private company M&A, private equity and venture capital investment and corporate restructurings, as well as providing corporate governance advice to directors. Recent examples include a follow on Series B investment for a US based venture capital fund into a UK based business developing and manufacturing sustainable industrial products; a Series A investment for a German venture capital fund into a UK business developing decarbonising technologies; the sale of an assisted living operator to an acquirer backed by one of the largest US private equity funds; various acquisitions in the hotels and hospitality sector, including the acquisition of a multi-room hotel in central London and associated advice on funding; and the restructuring of a group involving multiple companies as part of the acquirer’s post-acquisition integration.

Financial Services

As part of Simon’s private company M&A practice he has a particular focus on the financial services sector, where he has advised on both the sell-side and buy-side in wealth management, fintech and other regulated sectors. He has recently advised Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management in the UK & Crown Dependencies (CGWM UK) on its acquisitions of Punter Southall Wealth Limited and Adam & Company Investment Management as well as a fintech in relation to its sale to an international acquirer.

Senior Executives

Simon advises senior executives on management buy outs, negotiating equity and retention arrangements and on joining and exiting private equity backed businesses. Recent advice has included advising a client in the insurance industry on its management incentive plan, including both the issue of shares and options to staff; a CEO on the terms of their sweet equity and co-investment in a joint venture in the sports industry, backed by a global private equity sponsor; and a management team operating in the energy industry on the adoption of a new management incentive plan.