The sale covered 400 of approximately 800 stores.
Freshfields' multidisciplinary team was led by Restructuring and Insolvency partner Ryan Beckwith. The team included counsel Anne Sharp, senior associate James Watson, associates Chris Barr and Catherine Shuttleworth, and Richard Harmer from the firm’s Restructuring and Insolvency team. Counsel Margaret Rhodes and associate Domini Hobson (Real Estate), partner Jill Gatehouse and associate Meredith Loftus (Tax), associate Gina Bicknell (Intellectual Property) and senior associate Susan Doris (Employment, Pensions and Benefits) also advised.
Commenting on the announcement, Freshfields partner Ryan Beckwith said: ‘This transaction demonstrates our capabilities in relation to sales of large businesses out of complicated trading administrations which often need to be negotiated in very short timeframes against a background of challenging trading conditions.'
