What does it take to lead London’s M&A market? A clear view of the commercial goal, specialists who work as one team and the experience to keep complex deals moving forwards.

Published: 21 October 2026

What complex deals demand

Buyers, investors, founders and management teams are making decisions against a demanding backdrop filled with potential opportunities for growth, market expansion, and innovation.

This changes what businesses need from their advisers. Technical accuracy is essential but is only the starting point. Successful transactions depend on clear priorities, early decisions and advice that connects legal detail with commercial reality.

That is where experience matters: recognising pressure points, bringing the right specialists together and keeping a transaction moving when the route to completion becomes complicated.

A market view built deal by deal

Shoosmiths was ranked the number one M&A adviser in London for deal activity by Experian MarketIQ in 2025. During the same year, its Corporate team advised on more than 250 transactions, with an aggregate value exceeding $7bn.

While those figures demonstrate scale, the real value lies in the insight behind them. Working across acquisitions, investments, exits and public company transactions gives the team a live view of the issues influencing the market. It can see where deals lose momentum, where risk emerges and what allows different parties to align around a workable outcome.

Recent work shows what that looks like in practice.

Enabling growth in critical infrastructure

Shoosmiths advised the selling shareholders of AVK Power Solutions on Partners Group’s acquisition of a majority stake in the business. Partners Group intends to invest more than $1bn of equity, backed by debt financing, to accelerate AVK’s expansion.

AVK designs, installs and maintains power solutions for data centres and AI infrastructure. It has delivered more than 20,000 projects and installed approximately 3.5 GW of power, with operations spanning established and emerging data centre markets across Europe. The investment supports its continued growth and the development of long-term energy-as-a-service solutions for data-centre operators.

Shoosmiths advised on all aspects of the transaction through a corporate team led by Stephen Porter and Claire Checketts, supported by specialists including tax partner Laura Gould and employment partner Stuart Lawrenson.

For AVK, the value of that support was measured not only in completion, but in how the deal was handled.

Bringing control to a cross-border sale

FOSROC’s sale to Saint-Gobain presented a different challenge. The $1.025bn cross-border transaction involved a business with major operations across India, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, creating a demanding, multi-jurisdictional process shaped by regulatory, competition and timing pressures.

Shoosmiths acted as lead legal adviser from the start of the sale process through to completion. Working with FOSROC’s interim general counsel, the firm coordinated the advisory workstreams, managed the virtual data room and steered an extensive due-diligence exercise across several jurisdictions.

The team combined M&A expertise with support across tax, competition, environmental regulation, commercial contracts, privacy and real estate. The purpose was straightforward: give FOSROC aligned, commercial advice so that decisions could be made quickly and with confidence.

Led by partner Ben Turner, the transaction completed following regulatory approvals. The work was subsequently named International Deal of the Year at the 2026 Insider Media UK Dealmakers Awards.

Creating scale in workforce technology

Shoosmiths also advised Five Arrows on the merger of Totalmobile Ltd and Solvares Group. The transaction created an international provider of field-service and workforce-optimisation technology supporting more than 4,000 customers across Europe, the UK and Australasia.

The Shoosmiths team was led by partners Elizabeth Ward and Amit Nayyar and worked as co-counsel alongside Hengeler Mueller.

The merger illustrates another defining feature of today’s market: deals are increasingly about building reach and capability, not simply transferring ownership. The legal work must support that wider commercial aim while helping multiple advisers and stakeholders move towards the same result.

Turn experience into momentum

These transactions sit in different sectors and follow different structures. What connects them is the need for advisers who can see the whole deal: its strategic aim, its operational realities and the legal issues that could affect its value or timing.

In a market where certainty is harder won, the right advice does more than manage complexity. It creates momentum. By combining market insight, specialist expertise and a clear view of the commercial goal, Shoosmiths helps clients protect value, make confident decisions and move ambitious deals forward.