People

Robert specialises in employee share schemes and incentives. He advises both listed and unlisted clients on the design, operation and implementation of approved and unapproved schemes. He also deals with the share schemes aspects of M&A transactions.

Recent highlights include:

• advising Brit Insurance plc on its recent redomiciliation. This involved advising as to the effect of the redomiciliation on existing awards under Brit's share schemes, drafting communications to award holders and amending each of the current schemes to reflect issues arising out of the redomiciliation and changes in best practice;
• amending the deferred bonus scheme operated by Record plc (and originally implemented by us at the time of Record's IPO) to take account of taxation changes and ensure the scheme continued to comply with institutional shareholder expectations;
• advising Tenon plc on its switch from AIM to the full list of the London Stock Exchange, including advice as to the changes which would be required to be made to its share schemes to meet the requirements of the Listing Rules and satisfy institutional shareholder guidelines;
• advising on the implementation of a number of incentive schemes for companies within the Virgin group;
• advising Anheuser Busch in relation to the effect of the $52bn acquisition by Inbev on participants in their UK share schemes (originally implemented by us);
• acting for Just Retirement Holdings plc on the share schemes aspects arising on its £225m take private by Permira, including the establishment of new schemes more suited to a private equity ownership structure (the third "generation" of schemes which we have implemented for Just Retirement); and
• advising Whitbread plc on the share schemes aspects of its acquisition of Coffee Heaven plc, involving participants in Poland and six other eastern European countries.