Simon Woodings
Senior Partner
Telephone: +44 (0)1782 205 000
Secretary: Carol Shenton
Practice areas
An experienced corporate and commercial lawyer, Simon’s focus is on delivering practical advice to help clients achieve the best from their business and to meet their long term goals.
Simon brings strong leadership and clarity of thought, cutting through jargon and delivering in a client friendly way – essential skills in dealing with corporate and property transactions including mergers, acquisitions, sale or restructuring. A professional corporate finance colleague describes Simon as "one of the most commercially-minded lawyers in the North Midlands".
A strong negotiator, he has substantial experience in working with owner-managed businesses and the particular issues that they encounter, from family succession issues, finance and growth, to property development and dealing with competitors.
Specialisms
- Automotive clients
- Security advice for banks
- Corporate finance transactions (mergers, acquisitions, sale or restructuring of a business)
- Directors' responsibilities
- Finance & growth
- Partnership or shareholder agreements or disputes
- Succession planning
- Strategic business and property advice
- Property negotiations (sale, purchase, leases, financing and development)
Recent transactions
- Sale of training company
- Sale of plastics company
- Acquisition of number of automotive franchises
- Advising on multi-million property disposal
- Advising on acquisition of waste management facility
- Re-organisation of waste management group
- Advising on re-banding of property group
- Assisting in re-finance of international sports brand
- Acquisition of gun manufacturing business
- Sale of Phoenix Dynamics Ltd to Southern Bear Plc
- Acquisition of Southern File and Data Management on behalf of OASIS (UK) Ltd
- Acquisition of waste management group
- Disposal of corporate recovery specialists
- Management buy-out of furniture group
- Advice on corruption
- Advice on minority protection issues on sale
- Advice to major car dealership on money laundering obligations
Other professional & pro bono
- Senior partner of Beswicks Solicitors
- Non-executive Director of Argus Fire Protection Company Limited
- Occasional lecturer in commercial law at Staffordshire University
- Council Member of North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce
- Staffordshire Business and Environment Network
Recommendations
- "........ Simon Woodings ........ "very approachable, honest, trustworthy and highly qualified". Legal 500 2011
Personal
- Leisure activities include golf (more enthusiasm than talent), skiing (favourite resort Sunshine Village), cycling, shooting and attending a gym.
- Other interests include reading and enjoying good food and wine (hence the gym membership)
- Simon is married with two children.
