Addleshaw Goddard is increasing its City-based private equity capability with the appointment from Linklaters of Ben Rodham.
The hire is the latest in a string of targeted London-based investments by the firm as it builds additional capability and specialist expertise across key disciplines and chosen markets.
Rodham’s principal area of focus is advising private equity firms and other financial sponsors across all forms of leveraged M&A, disposals, restructurings and portfolio company issues. He has worked with a number of well known investors including Bridgepoint, Carlyle, Global Infrastructure Partners, Hg Capital, Montagu, PAI and Terra Firma.
Rodham has extensive experience of cross-border transactions, having spent time in Linklaters’ Dubai and Hong Kong offices advising on a number of transactions including the first public merger in Qatar – the circa USD3bn merger of Barwa with Qatar Real Estate Investment Company. Most recently, he advised the Arcadia Group on the sale of a 25 per cent stake in Topshop and Topman to Leonard Green and Partners.
Andrew Carpenter, head of private equity, says: "Ben is a very highly regarded private equity practitioner, having worked on some of the most high profile and complex transactions in the market in recent years. Our clients already include a number of the UK’s best known PE houses, and Ben’s arrival will provide us with additional coverage and resource in London to strengthen that reputation and continue the growth of our PE practice."
Addleshaw Goddard’s private equity team is made up of nine partners, one legal director and 35 other fee earners. Its client portfolio includes 3i, Dunedin, ECI, Graphite, Gresham, Inflexion, ISIS, LDC, Phoenix and Piper Private Equity.
