Salman Kotwal is a corporate/commercial lawyer who trained and qualified in-house with a UK-headquartered global petrol forecourt operator, which has operations spanning across the UK and Ireland, Europe, Australia and the US.

Salman started life as a paralegal on completion of his Legal Practice Course, and shortly after, secured a training contract as a trainee solicitor, which included a secondment to the corporate department of a Magic Circle law firm in London. He has since qualified as legal counsel.

Following qualification, Salman’s practice continued in-house and covered aspects of buy-side M&A in the retail sector, including domestic and cross-border acquisitions and corporate restructurings, and providing general business support and advice. Among other acquisitions, both during his training contract and thereafter, Salman was directly involved with investments into petrol filling stations and food-to-go and retail concessions across Europe, Australia and the US.

Salman also advised on franchise and supplier agreements for various well-known brands and service providers.

During his capacity as an in-house lawyer, Salman advised on all things legal-related, including employment law, litigation and disputes. Through doing corporate deals for four and a half years with the group general counsel and in close proximity to executive and senior management teams, including, among others, the Co-CEOs, COO and group commercial and operations directors, Salman has gained invaluable business experience.

Salman saw a move to the firm as an obvious strategic shift, and an opportunity to add his value and client knowledge to a wider corporate client base.

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  • Acting for EG Group on the acquisition of fast food restaurant chain, LEON, in the UK.*
  • Advising EG Group on the acquisition of one of the largest KFC franchisee portfolios in the UK and Ireland (146 locations) from The Herbert Group.*
  • Advising EG Group on several group restructurings following completion of private acquisitions.*
  • Advising EG Group on the franchise and development agreement with a US-owned global bakery chain.*
  • Advising EG Group on the disposal of its Netherlands-headquartered fuel card business to US-based financial technology services provider, Wex Inc.*
  • Filing federal premerger notifications on behalf of EG Group for the acquisition of the Minit Mart Portfolio in the US.*
  • Conducting antitrust analyses for potential acquisitions in the UK and in Europe.*
  • Acting for EG Group on multiple portfolio acquisitions across the Group involving petrol filling stations and food-to-go concessions.*
* Experience from previous employment.

Education

  • BBP Law School, L.P.C., 2017
  • University of Salford, LL.B., 2015

Admissions

  • England and Wales, 2020

Languages

  • English
  • Gujarati
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