Be it supermarkets, toiletries, stationary, soft drinks, beer, wine and spirits, the enormous FMCG market is typified by big groups, large volumes, aggressive costs and a relentless drive for efficiencies.

The FMCG team at Olswang provides the essential legal services that large FMCG groups require including corporate, property, competition, IP and brand protection as well as access to the complex world of IT outsourcing which is so critical to delivering savings in this very process driven market.

Fast moving consumer goods are items in which everyone needs to live and our team is able to provide all the essential legal services that an FMCG business needs to survive.

Helen Newman advises a number of FMCG companies including those in the pharmaceutical, tobacco, fashion, alcoholic beverages and consumer goods sectors.

Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander

Advised Kaupthing on its investment in Costcutter, one of the UK's leading retail "Symbol" groups in a transaction which valued its stake at £100 million. 

Tchenguiz Family Trust/ Somerfield

Advised the Tchenguiz Family Trust, as part of a consortium comprising APAX Partners, Barclays Capital and themselves, on the £1.2 billion recommended cash offer made for Somerfield.

Sofidel S.p.A.

Advised Sofidel S.p.A, an Italian tissue paper manufacturer, in relation to its acquisition of LPC Group Limited, a Leicester based tissue paper manufacturer with overseas operations in Sweden, Belgium, France and India to create Europe's second largest tissue paper producer with a combined turnover of €1.3 billion per annum.

Photon Group 

We advised Photon Group Limited (Photon) on the sale of its Field Marketing & Retail Agencies division to Navis Capital Partners, an Australian private equity firm, for a cash consideration of AUS$146.5 million.

Aberdeen Property UK Retail Parks Partnership

Advised Aberdeen on the sale of its freehold interest in St John's Retail Park Wolverhampton to Glasgow City Council (as administrators of the Strathclyde Pension Fund) for a consideration of just over £40 million.

BBC Worldwide

Advised BBC Worldwide on its acquisition of Woolworths' 40% interest in 2 Entertain, a DVD publishing and distribution joint venture established by BBC Worldwide and Woolworths in 2004 for £17 million.

ISIS Private equity

Advised private equity house, ISIS Equity Partners ("ISIS"), on the founder led management buy-out of Encore Tickets Limited ("Encore"), the UK's largest independent theatre (and other attractions) ticket distributor and retailer, with a deal value in excess of £20 million.

Mount Street Tailors

Advised Mount Street Tailors Limited on its acquisition of the business and assets of Douglas Hayward Limited, the Mayfair tailoring business that recently went into administration. 

Grant Thornton

Advised administrators Grant Thornton on the sale of the Sapphire portfolio of shopping centres to European Property Investors Special Opportunities Fund (EPISO) for £145 million.

Primary Capital

Advised independent private equity firm Primary Capital on the management buyout of leading stationery retailer Paperchase Products Ltd from Borders Group, Inc in a deal worth £30 million.

Brugal & Co

Olswang has advised Dominican Republic based law firm Cabral & Diaz on the English law aspects of a high profile international transaction. Cabral & Diaz acted for the shareholders of Brugal & Co, the Dominican Republic's producer and distributor of Brugal rum, on the majority sale of its shares to the Edrington Group ("Edrington").

Cobra Beer

Olswang advised Cobra Beer for several years in relation to its UK and India operations.

Build-A-Bear

Advised Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW), the retailer that allows you to create and customise your own stuffed animal, in the letting of four premises at rents well in major retail centres in the UK as part of its initial expansion into the UK market.

Protego Real Estate Investors LLP

Advised Protego Real Estate Investors LLP on its first ever UK shopping centre fund, aimed at UK and European institutional investors, with a potential fund value of £350 million.

Hilding Anders

Advised Europe's largest bed manufacturing group, Hilding Anders International AB ("Hilding Anders" or "the Company"), on its acquisition of Myer's Beds, one of the UK's leading bed and mattress manufacturers.

Paperchase

Olswang has advised independent private equity firm Primary Capital on the management buyout of leading stationery retailer Paperchase Products Ltd from Borders Group, Inc ("Borders") in a deal worth £30 million.

Unilever

Olswang has advised FTSE 100 client Unilever on a global, second generation outsourcing deal with IT services provider Unisys. Under the deal, Unisys will provide innovative desktop and IT support services to more than 60,000 Unilever employees worldwide. Olswang also advised Unilever on its related desktop hardware leasing arrangements.

Woolworths

Olswang has advised its long standing client Woolworths Plc on a major outsourcing to Gist Ltd, the supply chain specialist and a member of the BOC Group.

Olswang acted for Woolworths in a significant judgment handed down by the Court of Appeal arising out of a joint venture entered into between BBC Worldwide and members of the Woolworths Group of companies for the purpose of publishing and distributing videos and DVDs, primarily of BBC content.