Law firm Lewis Silkin has hired聽Mark Winthorpe as a partner into its corporate practice in Manchester.
Winthorpe has been practising in Manchester with Pannone for over 20 years and has extensive experience working with venture capital and on private equity transactions, acting for both investors and management teams, as well as acting on complex cross border M&A transactions.聽
He has advised on deals spanning sectors including financial services, energy and industrials, and highly scalable growth businesses often wrapped around a technology proposition.
He had three deals shortlisted at the North West Dealmakers awards 2024: acting for YFM on the 拢8m Series A round into Fuuse, acting for Mercia Ventures and Smedvig on the 拢8m Series A round into CultureAI, and for the shareholders of M&I Materials on the sale of the MIDEL business to Shell plc.
Winthorpe鈥檚 appointment closely follows the hiring of fellow Manchester corporate partner Ashi Amershi, with whom he worked with for 14 years at his previous firm.
Since launching in 2022 with a four-person employment law team led by Sally Hulston, in less than three years Lewis Silkin鈥檚 Manchester offering has grown to comprise seven partners and a wider a team of over 40.聽
Together they support creative and entrepreneurial businesses, leading regional corporate enterprises, private equity houses and venture capital investors in the region with their employment, commercial, real estate, intellectual property and corporate law requirements.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very excited to welcome Mark to the team. He has a longstanding reputation in his field and real local clout, having advised some of the biggest names in business headquartered in the region,鈥� said Hulston, partner and head of Lewis Silkin鈥檚 Manchester Office.聽
鈥淢ark has built one of the leading venture capital practices in the region and his experience of building a successful practice from scratch means he is well placed to support our expanding corporate presence in Manchester and our growth ambitions in the North of England more broadly.
鈥淲ith the addition of Mark, we鈥檝e added further capacity to support higher volumes of corporate transactional work from Manchester 鈥� which continues to host one of the most investable and fastest growing business communities outside of London, as well as being home to one of the country鈥檚 largest startup and scaleup ecosystems.
鈥淥ur growth and investment in Manchester in just three years has been incredibly exciting; we aren鈥檛 slowing down and are continuing to recruit in Manchester at multiple levels. We very much look forward to working with Mark as this journey continues.鈥�
Winthorpe commented: 鈥淭he strength of Lewis Silkin鈥檚 tier 1 national corporate offering, its adoption of market leading technology products and the quality of the team already assembled in Manchester, created a fantastic opportunity for me to continue to develop and enhance my practice.
鈥淚 am particularly excited at the prospect of further developing the firm鈥檚 corporate offering in the North alongside Ashi, with real opportunities to be leveraged and value to be added for clients from our presence in Leeds as well as Manchester.
鈥淭he positive energy of the team at Lewis Silkin is infectious and it is an environment I am very much looking forward to working in. The firm has already established itself as a success story in Manchester and the rate of growth is evidence both of the firm鈥檚 strategic focus on the city and the wider North – and also of the thriving and fast growing business community here in the Greater Manchester region.鈥�