David is a corporate specialist who advises on public and private M&A, private equity, joint ventures and IPOs.

Corporate

Described as 'amongst the best there is' in the M&A section of Legal 500, 2012, and recommended in the Legal 500 UK section for M&A, David is renowned not only for his transaction skills but is also noted as 'sensible, efficient, creative, well connected and a pleasure to work with' in Legal 500, 2010.  His chosen sectors are leisure (hotels, resorts, restaurants bars etc), sport, entertainment, gaming, retail, tech and media.

As the head of the firm's leisure & retail practice, David is linked to some of the key players in the global leisure industry, acting on UK, European, Indian, Middle and Far East as well as Australian transactions.  His address book includes some of the global elite in the leisure industry and his client base is a testament to his ability to introduce high quality people to one another and his ability to convert relationships into transactions. 

He is ranked in Chambers Global 2013 in the M&A section which observes that "he always has the client's best interests in mind, appreciates when advice is needed promptly and ensures he meets set deadlines."

India

David is also responsible for Olswang's leading India practice which seeks to advise UK corporates on their India strategies.  He also advises UK and European brands and concepts on setting up in India and calls upon his connections in India to facilitate such deals.  He is ranked in Chambers Asia 2012 as a leading individual in Corporate/M&A for India (International Firms) and described in Chambers Global 2012 as "a respected corporate lawyer who is "well known in the Indian market'" .  David is ranked in Chambers Asia 2013 and Chambers Global 2013 as a leading M&A lawyer in India.

Sport

David commentates on the corporate aspects of sport in the English media and provides specialist input in his other area of specialisation, namely the sale and purchase of English and Scottish premier league football clubs where he has acted on acquistions of clubs including West Ham and Rangers.  He has appeared as a commentator on SkyNews, BBC News, the Charles Randall evening show and was also featured in the BBC investigation into the Rangers transaction, a piece lead by investigative journalist Mark Daly.

Follow David on Twitter:  @thesportslawguy.
 

David is qualified both in the UK and Australia, where he earned his BA/LLB and worked with Corrs Chambers Westgarth.  He worked in the M&A department of Lovells from 1998 to 2005 before joining Olswang.  Since joining Olswang, David's transactions include advising:

Leisure

• D&D London on the sale of this international premium dining restaurant group
• Hill Capital & LDC on their early stage investment into the New World Pubco Limited
• Calculus Capital on its early stage investment into Mexican fast casual dining concept Benitos Hat
• Kaupthing on the sale of its pan European business Arovit
• Alpha Flight Group Limited on the sale of its flight catering business in the Netherlands
• Alpha Flight Group Limited on the UK business merger of the flight catering business of Alpha and LSG Sky Chefs s to create a £330 million joint venture
• Bill Miller the US trucking tycoon on his proposed acquisition of The Rangers Football Club plc (In Administration)
• Middle eastern buyer on its acquisition of the Ramada Encore hotel, West London
• Investec Bank plc on financing of an A list US recording artist
• dnata World Travel on its acquisition of www.travelrepublic.co.uk
• Tune Hotels.com Limited on its acquisition of London hotel sites
• Hakkasan on its master franchise agreement in India
• Hakkasan on its acquisition of Japanese restaurant Sake no Hana, London
• Lloyds TSB bank on its £400 million hotel restrucutre of a problem hotel port folio
• Guoman Hotels on a £190 million sale and lease back
• Hull City Football Club on its sale to Allamhouse Limited
• dnata on the acquisition of global airline catering business, Alpha Flight Group from Italian listed giant Autogrill Spa
• Elephant Capital plc in relation to its acquisition of a minority stake in global clinical research business, ClinTech
• Tony Fernandes on his bid for West Ham Football Club
• D&D London on the lease and development of a new London city hotel and new Leeds restaurant
• AEG Live UK on the establishment of the music touring company Marshall Arts and Kilimanjaro Limited
• AEG Live UK on the acquisition of the outdoor rock concert "Rockness"
• Bell Leisure Holdings on the £500m acquisition of the Esporta Group of gym and health clubs
• Evolution Securities on the IPO of Indian animation company DQ Entertainment Limited
• Sheik Mohammed bin al Jabar on the acquisition of the Eton Collection of Hotels
• Worldspreads Group plc on its admission to listing on the AIM stock market
• Kaupthing Bank on the pre-pack of Asquith Nurseries
• Dawnay Shore Hotels on the FRI lease disposal of the Paramount Group of hotels to Barcelona International;
• Worldspreads Group plc on the MBO sales of their Irish financial and spreadbetting businesses

Tech, media, fashion

• Lachlan Murdoch and Illyria Radio Investments Limited on its acquisition of DMG Radio in Australia;
• Fairfax Media Limited on the sale of the Southern Star Group to Endemol;
• Photon Group Limited on the acquisition of Naked Communications
• Photon Group Limited on its acquisition of North by Northwest Group
• Photon Group Limited on its acquisition of Frank Public Relations Limited;
• Photon Group Limited on its group reorganisation and capital raising;
• Photon Group Limited on its sale of Field Marketing & Retail Agencies division to Navis Capital Partners
• Independent News & Media plc on its investment in internet gaming company Cashcade Limited;
• Universal Music Group on its acquisition of Vice Versa.
•  Diane Von Furstenberg, the NY fashion house on internal restructuring