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Victoria Hughes

She/herSenior Associate
Victoria Hughes combines knowledge of the law with the utmost common sense. She is especially good at explaining complicated documents in the simplest possible terms and provides great reassurance.
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About

Victoria is a corporate lawyer with a broad range of expertise in domestic and multi-jurisdictional private M&A, international corporate reorganizations and general company law and compliance matters. Victoria is currently on secondment with Rolls-Royce, gaining valuable in-house experience within their dedicated M&A legal team.

Victoria has executed complex international transactions for both listed and private companies, allowing her to establish trusted relationships with many of her colleagues across the globe. Domestically, she is particularly experienced in working with owner managers to help guide them through their sales processes and ensure that they fully understand the terms of their transactions.

Victoria contributes technical excellence and commerciality to her transactions and is a very proficient project manager. She is committed to building strong rapports with her clients so that they can count on her as a trusted adviser.

Victoria has a particular focus on the life sciences and consumer goods, food and retail sectors, and is also prominent in the industrials and financial services sectors.

Victoria is an avid supporter of DLA Piper’s pro bono practice and has previously been shortlisted for the Birmingham Law Society Legal Awards’ Pro Bono Award. In particular, she champions DLA Piper’s partnership with Kids in Need of Defense UK, where she helps children of low-income immigrants to obtain British citizenship. She also regularly participates in initiatives which aim to improve equality of opportunity and break down barriers faced by under-represented groups when entering the legal profession.

Professional QualificationsSolicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales

EXPERIENCE

  • Advised ForFarmers, a leading supplier of feed materials to farmers and livestock producers, on its acquisition of Thunderbrook Equestrian, an equine feed and herbal supplement business, for an undisclosed sum in January 2024.
  • Advised nLighten, a digital infrastructure platform of I Squared Capital, a leading global infrastructure investor, on its acquisition of Proximity Data Centres, a leading regional platform in the UK, for an undisclosed sum in September 2023.
  • Advised a multinational building materials business on the disposal of an African subsidiary as part of its strategic portfolio optimisation program for an undisclosed sum in August 2023.
  • Advised Famille C Participations, the corporate venture capital arm of the Courtin-Clarins family office (the family behind the French luxury cosmetics company Clarins Group), on its acquisition of a majority stake in Pai Skincare, a London-based beauty label known for its clean, animal testing-free and vegan products, for an undisclosed sum in March 2023.
  • Advised Lotus Bakeries, the Belgian indulgent and natural snacking producer, on its acquisition of the UK sourdough cracker and crisp business, Peter’s Yard for an undisclosed sum in July 2022.
  • Advised Intercept Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialisation of novel therapeutics to treat progressive non-viral liver diseases, in its deal to sublicense to Advanz Pharma the rights to commercialise Ocaliva (obeticholic acid) outside the US, and sell certain foreign subsidiaries and rights regarding its international operations in May 2022. The transaction was valued at up to USD450 million, including USD405 million upfront and an additional USD45 million in contingent payments.
  • Advised West Nottinghamshire College, a major provider of post-16 education in the Mansfield area, on its disposal of bksb, the leading provider of cloud-based eLearning for essential GCSE Maths and English and Functional Skills qualifications and which has operations in India and Australia, to Advanced for an undisclosed sum in May 2021.
  • Advised the shareholders of Leeson Chemicals Limited, a leading UK-based manufacturer of polyurethane adhesives and coatings, on its sale to Innovative Chemical Products for an undisclosed sum in October 2020.
  • Advised Lotus Bakeries, the Belgian indulgent and natural snacking producer, on the increase of its ownership in the UK-based manufacturer of healthy bars, Natural Balance Foods (NBF). Lotus Bakeries acquired 67.2% of the shares in NBF when it entered into a strategic partnership with the founders of NBF in 2015, which DLA Piper also advised on, and increased its stake to 97.9% in May 2020.
  • Advised Ecolab, a global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that protect people and vital resources, on its disposal of The Holchem Group Limited, a UK-based supplier of hygiene and cleaning products and services, to Kersia, a biosecurity and food safety company for an undisclosed sum in May 2020.
  • Advised Ecolab on the UK aspects of its 2019/2020 international corporate reorganisation, the purpose of which was to facilitate the spin off its upstream energy business so that it could merge to become a subsidiary of Apergy, a public company with leading oilfield equipment and technology offerings.
  • Advised the shareholders of East End Foods, a leading supplier of Asian foods in the UK, on its sale to Exponent Private Equity for an undisclosed sum in November 2019.
  • Advised Sovereign Capital Partners and management on the sale of the Outcomes First Group to the National Fostering Agency for an undisclosed sum in July 2019.
  • Advised the shareholders of Newell Palmer, one of the largest and fastest-growing independent financial advisory firms in the West Midlands, on its sale to Ascot Lloyd for an undisclosed sum in November 2019.
  • Advised a publicly traded NASDAQ technology company on its 2018 offshore cash repatriation project which involved 15 jurisdictions and saw c.USD45,000,000 of funds distributed to the US.
  • Advised Clinigen on its acquisition in September 2018 of iQone Healthcare Holding, a privately owned Swiss based speciality pharmaceutical business, for an initial consideration of EUR7.5 million (GBP6.7 million) on a cash free, debt free basis.
  • Advised Kelda Water Services, a subsidiary of Kelda Group, which provides water and sewerage services to domestic and business customers across Yorkshire, on the sale of its Edinburgh anaerobic digestion facility to Biogen, one of the UK's largest biowaste processors and biogas plant operators, for an undisclosed sum in January 2018 and on the sale of its water and wastewater service provider, which delivered water and wastewater private finance initiative contracts for the Ministry of Defence, to Ancala Partners, the infrastructure investment manager, for an undisclosed sum in March 2018.
  • Advised Ecolab, on its acquisition of RP Adam, the then-126-year-old family-owned manufacturer of cleaning and disinfectant products, for an undisclosed sum in December 2017.
  • Advised Helly Hansen, the Norwegian technical outdoor brand, on its acquisition of Musto for an undisclosed sum in October 2017.
Languages
  • English
  • German
Education
  • University of Law, International Legal Practice LL.M., 2015
  • University of Birmingham, Law with German LL.B. (Hons), 2014

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