Joe Abbott is a lawyer in the Corporate Practice Group based in our London office. He focuses his practice on corporate matters including corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and private equity.
Joe works on corporate transactions across many sectors, with a particular focus on healthcare, media and technology. Joe has over 10 years’ experience advising on sales and acquisitions of creative agencies, and medical communications and market access businesses.
Joe has previously completed secondments at Yum! Restaurants International, EDF Energy Renewables, Renaissance Capital and the Royal Mail Group.
Advising the shareholders of Dolon Ltd, a healthcare pricing and market access consultancy, on the sale to Prescient Healthcare (backed by Bridgepoint Capital).
Advising Unispace on the sale of experiential design studio Downstream and luxury hospitality design firm GA to Elevate Creative.
Advising HC-One and the management shareholders on the sale of HC-One, the UK’s largest care home provider, to Welltower.
Advising a global IT distributor on the acquisition of a global payment terminal distributor.
Advising the management shareholders and NorthEdge Capital on the sale of Helios Global Group, a global healthcare communications business, to Telemos Capital.
Advising Alcuin Capital on its investment in Mar-Key Group, a leading designer, manufacturer and provider of temporary structures for events and structural solutions for commercial clients.
Advising HC-One on the acquisition of Ideal Carehomes from Warwick Capital Partners and LNT Group, and advising on the sale of various other care home assets.
Advising the shareholders of Global Perspectives, a leading global provider for patient search and engagement business providing support for clinical studies, on the sale to IQVIA (NYSE:IQV).
Advising M&A advisory firm Results International Group LLP and its partners on the sale of the business to Canaccord Genuity Limited.
Advising the shareholders of Republic M! on an investment by Queen’s Park Equity.
Advising Prescient Healthcare on its acquisition of global healthcare market research and commercial strategy consultancy Strategic North.
Advising the shareholders of Datapharm, a leading provider of regulatory-driven medicines information and software solutions to the pharmaceutical industry, on the sale to CGE Partners.
Advising Grafton Group plc on the acquisition of Stairbox, a UK manufacturer and distributor of bespoke wooden staircases, for circa £44 million, the acquisition of Leyland SDM for £82.4 million, the disposal of Plumbase, a specialist UK plumbing and heating business, for circa £60 million and the disposal of its traditional merchanting business for an enterprise value of £520 million to Huws Gray.
Advising management of LRQA on the buyout of the LRQA Group, backed by funds managed by Goldman Sachs.
Advising the shareholders of Lane4, a UK consultancy business, on the sale of the company to Ernst & Young.
Advising global video ad management platform Peach (backed by Inflexion) on its acquisitions of Stockholm-based advertisement delivery company Adtoox and advertisement product provider Advalidation.
Advising the shareholders of Entura International, a global online anti-piracy business, on the sale to Corsearch Inc.
Advising the shareholders of Prescient Healthcare Group on an investment by Baird Capital and a subsequent investment by Bridgepoint.
Advising on the sale of Helios Medical Communications, a global healthcare communications business, to NorthEdge Capital.
Advised the shareholders of PHMR on the sale to UDG Healthcare plc (LON: UDG).
Advising on the sale of 90TEN, a global independent healthcare communications consultancy, to Envision Pharma Group (backed by Ardian and GHO Capital).
Advising Tenzing Private Equity on the buyout of MPLC, the world’s largest non-theatrical TV and movie licensing company.
Advising Live Nation on various acquisitions, including (i) Dreamlands, a live music venue and amusement park, (ii) Rewind Festival from Global, and (iii) MCD Productions.
Advising Citron Hygiene, a provider of washroom hygiene, pest control, ware-washing and chemical solutions, on five UK acquisitions.
Advising the shareholders of Inside Ideas Group on the sale of a majority stake in the company to You & Mr Jones.
Advising the shareholders of CRM Students Limited, the UK’s largest independent student accommodation provider, on the sale of the company to CORESTATE Capital Holding S.A.
Advising the shareholders of BaseCase GmbH on the sale of this Software-as-a-Service provider to pharmaceutical and medtech companies to Certara USA, Inc.
Advising the shareholders and management of Alston Elliot, a leading provider of premium data-driven graphics solutions for live sports broadcasts, on the management buyout by Inflexion Private Equity.
Advising the shareholders on the sale of Market Data Services Limited, a technology expense management services company, to US private equity firm Sumeru Equity Partners.
Advising the management team of Davies Group on an investment by HGGC.
Advising the management team of Lane Clark & Peacock LLP on an investment by Inflexion Private Equity.
Advising the management team of CitySprint on the secondary buyout of the business (backed by LDC and Dunedin).
Advising the management team of Style Research Limited on the buyout of the business (backed by Lyceum Capital).
Advising the shareholders of MacDonald Humfrey (Automation) Ltd on the sale of the company to L-3 Communications (NYSE:LLL) for up to approximately £288 million.
Advising the shareholders of Stem Marketing Limited, a leading global provider of commercial, marketing and medical audits, on the sale of the company to UDG Healthcare plc (LON: UDG) for up to approximately £84 million.
Advising Inflexion Private Equity on the buyout of Group IMD from Vitruvian Partners.
Advising the shareholders of BaxterBruce Limited, a management consultancy firm, on the sale of the company to Crowe Horwath Global Risk Consulting LLP.
Advising the shareholders of National Hickman, a leading supplier of doorkits, on the sale of the company to Masonite International Corporation (NYSE:DOOR) for approximately US$82 million.
Advising the shareholders of MLex Limited, a global legal media organisation, on the sale of the company to Lexis Nexis.
Advising Coats Group plc, a leading industrial thread and consumer textile crafts business, on its acquisition of GSD.
Advising management on the MBO of Airwair International (Dr Martens) by Permira.
Advising the shareholders of Abacus International, a health market access consultancy company, on the sale of the company to Decision Resources Group.
“Joe Abbott and the team at Squire Patton Boggs were exceptional advisers throughout the sale process. They combined deep technical expertise with practical commercial judgment and were consistently responsive, and helped to secure us a great deal.
As a global business, it was important for us to have advisers with international reach and the ability to coordinate seamlessly across multiple jurisdictions. The Squire Patton Boggs team brought exactly that breadth, while also providing specialist expertise in areas that proved critical to the transaction, particularly tax. On several occasions, they stepped in to provide solutions and clear guidance where other advisers were unable or unwilling to do so, helping to keep the process moving forward.
What impressed me most was the strength and depth of the team. Everyone was on top of their brief, the advice was clear and robust, and I always felt that we were in safe hands. Beyond their technical capabilities, they were a genuine pleasure to work with throughout what can be an intense and demanding process. I would not hesitate to recommend Joe and the Squire Patton Boggs team to any founder, management team, or shareholder undertaking a complex transaction.”
Founder and CEO of a global healthcare market access and pricing consultancy
“We couldn’t recommend Joe Abbott highly enough. From his sound strategic counsel during the heads of terms phase, helping to prepare us for sale, through to due diligence and final contract signing, Joe was by our side – advising, challenging and guiding – to ensure the shareholders got the best possible outcome from the sale. Joe was a joy to work with, was extremely responsive, truly listened to what we wanted and delivered to the highest standards.”
Founder of a global healthcare medical communications agency
“Joe and the Squire Patton Boggs team were excellent throughout the transaction and were able to employ their vast experience to expertly abstract away the complexities of the deal, whilst calling on us to make key decisions and ensuring that we understood the key terms of the deal documents. This ensured that we could maximise the amount of time spent running the business and was critical to the successful outcome that was ultimately achieved.
Joe was great to work with, was always available, never phased and stood up for us on key negotiation points. My business partner and I would not hesitate to recommend Joe and the Squire Patton Boggs team and we look forward to working with them again on future projects.”
Founder and CTO of an online antipiracy business
“In my previous role as M&A Director for the UK’s largest elderly care provider, I had the pleasure of working with Joe and the team at Squire Patton Boggs for around four years. Throughout, the service I received was exemplary. I always felt I had the best legal advisors in my corner – negotiating on my behalf, providing invaluable advice, and supporting our business through the inevitable challenges to secure the best outcomes.
Joe and his team were always available, offering real-time support and access to a vast network of specialist advisors when needed. Joe himself is calm, pragmatic, enthusiastic, and an incredibly astute lawyer. Without him and his team, we would not have achieved the success we did.
Now, in my role as CFO and Partner at a healthcare investment firm, Squire Patton Boggs and Joe were my first choice for legal advisors. I would highly recommend them to anyone seeking outstanding legal counsel.”
James Oates, former M&A director, HC-One (currently CFO of Balmoral Partners)