Corporate finance specialist advising individuals and corporate clients in all aspects of mergers, acquisitions, funding and corporate structuring
Helen leads transactions ranging from share and asset acquisitions and disposals, management buy-outs and buy-ins, investment, joint venture and shareholder agreements to private equity transactions and bank funding and refinancing. She offers expert advice supporting entrepreneurs and owner managers to plan their exits, make investments or start a new business, and regularly assists both banks and borrowers on matters including secured lending, unsecured lending, acquisition finance and intercreditor matters.
Helen is a key member of the firm's travel team acting for ABTA, the TTA and TUI Travel plc and is also a member of the aviation team, with experience including funding the purchase and sale of various aircraft.
Helen won Corporate Lawyer of the Year at the 2010 Insider Dealmakers Awards and has received a number of nominations for this and other awards in previous years including a special commendation at the Women of the Future awards 2007.
A member of the Institute of Travel and Tourism and an elected member to the ABTA Travel Industry Partner steering committee, Helen is regularly asked to share her views and speak on issues affecting travel businesses.
Areas of expertise
- Acquisitions and MBOs – structuring transactions, negotiating terms and project management
- Disposals including mitigating liability, reducing risk and concluding transactions to schedule
- Refinancing bank or investor funding
- Restructuring: for limited companies, LLPs or partnerships
- Forming companies, LLPs and partnerships and advising on the appropriate vehicle
- Corporate governance including advising on regulatory compliance and guidance on director’s duties
In the real world … Helen is a keen golfer and loves running and cycling. She also enjoys gardening.
Year of qualification: 2000
What the legal directories say…
Helen Mead ‘can deal with legal complexities well, and takes a commercial view’, sources say.
Chambers & Partners UK 2011 - Corporate Finance
'always positive'
Legal 500 UK 2011 - Helen Mead, Corporate Finance