Steve Berry, Acuity Law Chairman
About
Expertise
Work

Steve is Chairman and a co-founding partner at Acuity Law.

Steve is an experienced corporate lawyer and dealmaker with a track record of over 25 years of top-level experience both in the UK and internationally.

Steve has advised on numerous high-value M&A transactions and has wide experience of advising on complex finance structures and partnerships between the private and public sectors.

Steve has board level experience of working with growth companies from early-stage funding through to exit and has a particular interest in technology-backed ventures. As well as strong technical legal skills, Steve brings a wealth of commercial experience.

Steve is listed as a leading individual in the Legal 500 and ranked Band 1 in Chambers & Partners.

 

  • Corporate deals and transactions including mergers, acquisitions and disposals
  • Private equity funded transactions and PE backed buy and build strategies
  • Commercial projects and contracts including long-term contracts between the private and public sectors
  • Banking and finance structures including complex and structured arrangements
  • Restructuring and distressed situations
  • Advising on the set up, structure and funding of MyPinPad, a leading company in the electronic payments sector, which has raised £20m+ in finance through several funding rounds.
  • Advising on the establishment of Wealthify, a robo-investment platform and its commercialisation through to a major institutional investment by Aviva.
  • Advising on the acquisition by Neptune 6 of the shares in Newport Wafer Fab (NWF) from Infineon AG, and the associated commercial and finance arrangements. Steve is a non-executive director of NWF and continues to lead the Acuity team supporting NWF as it expands its operations to become a leading player in the international semiconductor sector.
  • Advising Eco2 on a series of developments in the renewable energy sector, including three biomass power station projects involving £100m+ financings and leading to the sale of the project companies to financial institutions.
  • Advising on the establishment of Verdion Properties LLP and a long-term strategic alliance with the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan to create a £1bn+ investment platform for logistics properties throughout Europe.
  • Advising the former shareholders of Swansea City FC on the sale of the club to new US-based owners in a £100m+ deal.
  • Advising a US-based high-end property developer on the acquisition of the Smallbone of Devizes business out of administration, and the associated commercial and intellectual property arrangements.
  • Advised the shareholders of Business Systems (U.K) Limited and Opex Hosting Limited on their sale to PE firm August Equity, which saw the founding shareholders rolling up a minority interest in the new private equity ownership structure
  • Advised the shareholders of Hereford Contract Canning (HCC) Limited on their sale of a majority interest in HCC to Rutland Partners, a private equity investor, known for investing in UK headquartered businesses worth £20m to £150m
  • Advised the shareholders of Tripleplay Services Holdings Limited (Tripleplay) on their sale to Uniguest, a US-based cybersecurity technology solutions business

Accolades

  • Steve is listed as a leading individual in The Legal 500.

  • Steve is ranked Band 1 by Chambers & Partners.

  • The Corporate Team is ranked Tier 1 in The Legal 500.

  • The Corporate Team is ranked Band 1 in Chambers & Partners.

  • Corporate and Commercial Team of the Year
    Wales Legal Awards 2020

Words from our clients

  • “He is very good, pragmatic, commercial and doesn’t mess around.”

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