Burness Paull highlights inward investment potential after advising on Scotland’s deal of the year

Scotland will remain a key target for international investment, according to Scottish commercial law firm Burness Paull after the Macduff Shellfish deal on which it advised scooped the Sale of the Year and Deal of the Year at the Insider Deals and Dealmakers Awards dinner this week.

Burness Paull advised on the sale of Macduff Shellfish in Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire to Canadian listed Clearwater Seafoods Inc. for £98.4 million.

The deal, which was one of the largest corporate deals involving a Scottish-based business in 2015, won the Sale of the Year and went on to receive the award for Deal of the Year.

Commenting on the awards, which acknowledge and reward excellence in Scotland’s dealmaking community with a prestigious ceremony held at the Hilton Hotel, Glasgow, Jamie Stark, partner at Burness Paull and lead advisor on the deal, added: “I am delighted that the Macduff Shellfish deal has been recognised for Sale of the Year and Deal of the Year.

“This deal required a huge firm-wide marshalling of resources, including specialists from our corporate, Scottish property, English property, employment and pensions teams. Working alongside AAB, it’s a fantastic example of the entrepreneurial spirit and business activity in the North East of Scotland.”

The firm also advised on two other award winning transactions: Caldan Therapeutics, which won Early Stage/Risk Capital Deal of the Year; and Pipe and Piling Supplies, which won Small/Mid-sized Company Deal of the Year.

Chris Gotts, head of corporate finance at Burness Paull, added: “There has been much to celebrate in the Scottish dealmaking community this year. We owe thanks to the ambition of our clients who continue to trust us to deliver for them some of the most exciting deals in and from Scotland.”

In what has been an extremely busy 12 months Burness Paull completed deals worth more than £16.9 billion. Recognised as having the most active dealmaking team in Scotland, the firm topped the Business Insider Deals Table for 2015 and it remains top of the Deals Table for the year to date by a significant margin in both deal volume and value.

With significant deals spanning financial, food and drink and technology sectors, the firm is also working with an increasing number of international organisations. Advising clients in more than 60 jurisdictions in the past year, 40 per cent of the firm’s revenue now comes from international business.

“Scotland remains a key focus for many international organisations,” continued Chris. “As well as the sale of Macduff Shellfish, we also advised KKR as lead investor in Fanduel’s $275m fundraising and US drinks giant Brown-Forman on its acquisition of BenRiach in a deal worth £285 million - the largest M&A transaction in the Scottish market this year, which is testament to our 50-strong team of CF lawyers who consistently deliver exceptional results on behalf of our clients.

“Following these successes we see no sign of the deals market slowing down, from both a domestic and international perspective, so we are looking forward to another busy and exciting year.”