Herbert Smith Freehills advises Barnett Waddingham on sale to Howden, creating largest independent pensions and employee benefits consultancy in the UK

Leading international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Barnett Waddingham on its sale to Howden, the global insurance and employee benefits group. 

Barnett Waddingham LLP is a leading independent UK professional services consultancy across risk, pensions, investment and insurance, with 1,790 people, 99 of whom are partners. The deal will bring high quality pensions and related advice capability into Howden and provide the opportunity for international expansion in global markets.

The core Herbert Smith Freehills team included of counsel Martyn Jones, senior associate Nikesh Arya, associates Stuart Kerr and Dean Wanjala, and trainees Jamal Adan, Neeharika Palachanda and Kieran Choong, and was led by M&A partners Malcolm Lombers and Stephen Rayfield.

The wider team included: David Alexander, Dawn Scott, Perminder Gainda, Joshua Lom, Will Arrenberg, Aurell Taussig (Tax); Chloe Kim, Daniel Haddad, Ioannis Asimakopoulos, Chris Hurn, and Marina Reason (Financial Services Regulatory); Matthew Player and Praveena NS (Financial Sponsors); Joe Moorcroft-Moran and Veronica Roberts (Competition, Regulation and Trade); William Turner, Ankit Kapoor, Richard Norridge, Andrew Cooke (Trusts and Disputes); Jenny Andrews, Caroline Curran, Niall Crean, Holly Regan, Philippine Wiegand-Forson, Lydia Carrington, Nick Wright, Paul Ellerman, Michael Aherne and Mark Ife (Employment, Pensions & Incentives); Erin Hwang and Duc Tran (TMT); and Stacey Pang, Sue Lee, and Andrzej Fanner Brzezina (Finance).