Finance

1. Arcapita: Acquisition of Viridian Group plc
2. Acquisition of Welsh Slate division of Alfred
3. South East Regional College
4. Acquisition of Barr Holdings
5. Haldane Shiells
6. Hilton Group
7. Acquisition of Bord na Mona UK Subsidiaries
8. Bridgewater Park
9. Fosse Park Shopping Centre, Leicester
10. Lagan Group
11. Medicare
12. Shell
13. Randox Laboratories Limited
14. The Royal Bank of Scotland plc
15. Securitisations

1. Arcapita: Acquisition of Viridian Group plc
The firm provided the local Northern Irish advice to Dresdner, agent for a syndicate of banks, which provided the senior and junior debt funding to Arcapita in connection with its public to private acquisition of Viridian Group plc, the Northern Irish electricity company and on the subsequent reconstruction of the group.

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2. Acquisition of Welsh Slate division of Alfred
The firm acted for Ulster Bank in funding the acquisition of the Welsh Slate business of Alfred McAlpine plc by members of the Lagan family.

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3. South East Regional College
The firm advised the shortlisted bidder, EDLEP on the debt funding packing for this PPP accommodation project for the South East Regional College, a newly amalgamated Further Education College in Northern Ireland.

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4. Acquisition of Barr Holdings
The firm acted for Ulster Bank in the funding of the acquisition of Barr Holdings, the Scottish construction group, by a subsidiary of McLaughlin Harvey.

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5. Haldane Shiells
The firm was instructed by the Northern Bank Limited as the senior debt provider in the acquisition by leading Northern Irish building supplies company, Haldane Shiells and Company Limited of GE Robinson Company Limited.

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6. Hilton Group
The firm dealt with the Northern Irish aspects of the funding by Bear Stearns of the acquisition by Blackstone of the Hilton Hotel Group. The firm was led by Cadwalader Wickersham Taft LLP.

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7. Acquisition of Bord na Mona UK Subsidiaries
Advising FLI International Limited in relation to acquisition finance for the purchase of three of Bord na Monas UK subsidiaries.

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8. Bridgewater Park
The firm acted for Ulster Bank in the funding of Bridgewater Park Retail Outlet Centre at Banbridge, Northern Ireland. Eversheds acted for GML and Nabarro Nathanson for Land Securities, the mezzanine funder.

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9. Fosse Park Shopping Centre, Leicester
The firm acted with Travers Smith Braithwaite in the funding of the acquisition of Fosse Park Shopping Centre by Ulster Bank Limited.

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10. Lagan Group
The firm was instructed by Lagan Holdings Limited and Lagan Construction Limited, part of a consortium involved in the construction of the Limerick By-Pass. The firm provided advice in relation to the funding aspects of the project under Northern Irish law.

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11. Medicare
The firm advised NI based pharmacy group Medicare on the debt funding of a number of retail pharmacy businesses in Northern Ireland.

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12. Shell
The firm acted for the Anglo Irish Bank Corporation plc and the equity investor in the Northern Irish aspects of the acquisition of the business of Shell oil company in Northern Ireland. McCann FitzGerald were lead advisers for the Bank.

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13. Randox Laboratories Limited
The firm represented key Northern Ireland bio technology business Randox Laboratories in its £125m expansion programme based on its bio chip array system evidence ®. This programme also involved funding from Invest Northern Ireland of £18m. The firm has represented Randox Laboratories for a number of years in its growth and development as a leading provider of healthcare technology. The evidence ® diagnostic system developed by Randox has recently been awarded the prestigious MacRoberts Prize for innovative engineering.

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14. The Royal Bank of Scotland plc
The firm advised the project financiers on Northern Irish aspects of the construction and subsequent sale of the Moyle interconnector. The interconnector links Northern Ireland and Scottish electricity grids through submarine cable running from Ballycronanmore in Islandmagee, County Antrim to Auchencrosh in Ayreshire. The pipeline was sold to Team Northern Ireland, a not for profit organisation, by Viridian Group plc, the acquisition proceeds funded through a £136 million bond issue. Members of the firm advised on Northern Irish regulatory, corporate, property and project finance aspects of the transaction. The financiers English advisors were Allen Overy.

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15. Securitisations
The firm was involved in the first securitisation involving Northern Irish assets nearly 15 years ago and has continued to advise on programmes involving a variety of Northern Irish assets, working closely with City of London and US law firms to ensure that the Northern Irish assets are accommodated within the programme structure.

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