Page 6 - Survey 2020: The Star Business

6 THESTAR
www.thestar.co.uk Wednesday,January22,2020
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LEGAL
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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE
Impressive deals despite cautious year
This is my first business re- view as the chairman at Wake Smith and I have a tough act to follow,taking on the role of Nick Lambert, who is now en- joying a deserved retirement.
The changes we have seen in this most turbulent of polit- ical years, have been astonish- ing and been broadly reflected in the Sheffield City Region.
2019 started with political turmoil and indecision, build- ing on two years of the same, which was subduing, but not crippling, the economy.
We have seen businesses across the region continuing to survive and thrive in many circumstances, despite the threat of Brexit hanging over everything and a Parliament which could agree on nothing.
The end of the year allowed
businesses to breathe a sigh of relief following a landslide election. It created a majority government, which can sweep away the inertia that sapped the House of Commons since the 2016 referendum.
A majority government has given some confidence to businesses looking to man- age the now inevitable Brexit process and this was reflected in fast rising shares markets, strengthening of the pound and a general uplift in invest- ment predictions.
Sadly, this was quick- ly followed by yet another downturn as government im- mediately pushed legislation to outlaw further extensions to the Brexit deadline, raising the possibility of a hard Brexit.
For Wake Smith, this has
been a cautious year, but we have continued to handle some impressive deals via our company commercial division, have seen strong throughput of projects in our commercial property divi- sion and continued delivery for businesses and individuals across South Yorkshire.
Again we have had a wide variety of corporate trans- actions; advising banks on funding, share sale and share purchases for buyers and sell- ers, reorganisations of groups of companies, management buyouts and investment agreements.
The commercial property team were kept busy by devel- opers, retailers, and investors both private and institutional.
In May, we appointed two
new shareholders to our sen- ior team, with commercial property director Paul Gib- bon and private client direc- tor Suzanne Porter joining the existing seven-strong team of shareholder directors to help drive the business forward.
Their appointments bring added strength, stability and depth to the management of the company, and to the vi- tality and profitability of the Wake Smith brand over the forthcoming years, as well as adding a younger profile to the ownership structure and legacy of the business.
Our company outlook is positive and with the develop- ments towards Brexit now in motion, we remain optimistic that businesses will have the confidence to thrive.
John Baddeley, chairman at Wake Smith Solicitors.