Simon Ayling
Senior Associate
Simon Ayling is a senior associate in the global Corporate Practice based in our London office. Simon's experience covers all aspects of corporate matters such as advising on corporate transactions (mergers, acquisitions, disposals, private equity and fund raises), structural and governance matters (restructures, joint ventures and directors' duties) and corporate finance matters (investments, loan note issues and debt financing).
Simon advises clients such as founders and owner-managers to private equity houses and PLCs operating in various sectors and across a range of matters. Simon acts for businesses across various sectors, but in particular media and advertising, technology, energy, healthcare and real estate.
Private Equity
- Representing ECI Partners on its acquisition of Insurance Insider, a leading digital platform providing insights and analysis for the world’s top insurers, distributors and service providers and investors from Delinian (2024).
- Representing NorthEdge and the management team of Helios Global on the sale of the global healthcare communications business to Telemos (2024).
- Representing the management team and shareholders of i-Media, a leading out of home media owner, on the sale of the business to Mayfair Equity Partners (2024).
- Representing the management team of Ledger Bennett, a leading B2B marketing agency, on the sale of the business to Havas Media Group (2024).
- Advising Perwyn Private Equity on its acquisition of the insurance distribution business, Atec Group (2024).
- Advising the HIG Capital backed andwis Group Capital, the fast growing technical building services group, on its acquisition of CPS Building Services, Classic Lifts, Meesons Futures and Rock Compliance.
- Representing ECI Partners on its investment in Commify, Europe’s leading provider of business messaging solutions to local enterprises, in a deal valued at €300 million, from Hg (2023).
- Advising Lloyds Development Capital and the management team of MSQ Partners on the circa £170 million sale of MSQ Partners, the global multi-brand advertising agency, to private equity firm One Equity Partners (2023).
- Representing the shareholders of AnyVan (Celeres Investments, CEO/founder, management) on its £125 million growth capital investment by Vitruvian Partners (2022).
M&A
- Advising Rendesco, a leading heat pump installation business, on its fundraising round with Clean Growth Fund, Eurazeo’s Smart City fund and Aviva Ventures (2024).
- Advising the partners of corporate finance agency Results International on its merger with investment bank, Canaccord Genuity (2022).
- Advising MVF Marketing on its acquisition of leading product reviews website, Expert Reviews (2022).
- Advising Cavotec SA on the €10 million divestment of its airports business to US-based investment company Fernweh Group (2022).
- Advising Sonnedix on its acquisition of a 300 MW UK portfolio of five solar projects from Lightsource bp (2022).
- Advising the shareholders of hotel technology company Avvio Limited on their sale to Sceptre Hospitality Resources (a branch of Serent Capital) (2022).
Joint Venture
- Advising Copley Point on its joint venture with Brookfield Asset Management to invest £180 million into a UK logistics property portfolio in 2022, and the acquisition of logistics warehouses from Tritax Big Box REIT for £125 million in 2023.
- Representing Regis Group PLC and its founders on their multi-platform joint ventures with Blackstone in the real estate sector, Leaf Living (2021 and 2024) and Sage (2023).
- Advising renewable energy business Econergy International on a €250 million investment by RGreen Invest (2023).
Restructure
- Advising on a range of restructure transactions such as demergers, carve-outs, hive-ups, share for share exchanges, buy-backs, divestitures, capital reductions and international reorganisations.
Education
- University of Law, LLM LPC, 2016
- University of Leicester, LLB Law with a Year Abroad (Macquarie University, Australia), 2014
Admissions
- England and Wales, 2019