Simon is a senior counsel in the corporate finance team, with over 25 years' experience, his primary focus being on M&A and Private Equity transactions. Simon advises on mid-market transactions, with experience across a range of sectors, but primarily energy or retail/consumer focused.
Simon acts for acquirers, sellers, investors, investee companies and management teams, with deep knowledge and experience in relation to the issues which arise and what is market practice. Simon's day to day work features: private equity transactions (primarily acting for the equity investor), oil and gas related transactions and acting for companies based in the south west of the UK. Simon also advises on a wide range of corporate transactional and legal matters, including corporate re-organizations, restructurings, investments, joint ventures and shareholder arrangements.
Simon leads the legal team in relation to a transaction, and project manages the legal aspects and the team of specialist lawyers, becoming part of the client's team and interfacing with its other advisers. His primary objective is to drive the transaction to completion, on the best terms for the client, but recognising the other parties' objectives. Many of the transactions in relation to which Simon advises have an international element, particularly in the Oil and Gas sector. Simon graduated from Warwick University with a first class law degree.
Experience
Examples of experience include advising:
- RWE Npower on its sale of Gas Plus Supply Limited and Electricity Plus Supply Limited to Telecom Plus plc for £218m (having acted for RWE Npower on the acquisition of those companies)
- Tullow Oil plc on the sale of Tullow Oil UK Limited to Eni for £210m
- Noble Energy Inc. on the reorganization and subsequent disposal of its UK and Dutch oil and gas interests, as corporate disposals, to purchasers including Maersk, Ithaca Energy, Hansa Petroleum and Oranje-Nassau Energie
- British International Holdings Limited (helicopter operator) on its initial private equity investment, secondary buy-out and subsequent disposal to Patriot Aerospace
- Sumitomo Corporation on the reorganisation and subsequent disposal of Sumitomo Petroleum Limited to Ithaca Energy for $170m
- Excelerate on the divestment of Seal Sands Gas Transportation Limited to Trafigura
- Piper Private Equity on private equity investments, including in Loungers Café-bars, Turtle Bay Restaurants, Orlebar Brown, Hickory's Smokehouse, Forthglade Foods, Propercorn, Barking Heads and Flat Iron Steak Restaurants
- Vitol S.A. and affiliates on acquisitions, investments and corporate joint ventures in oil and gas related project, primarily in Africa, including Ghana, Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire
- Zennor Petroleum on its investment of up to $400m by Hong Kong based Kerogen Capital
- Countrywide Farmers plc on its acquisition of the retail business of Cornwall Farmers
- Hydro International plc (AIM listed) on its recommended takeover by Hanover Investments
Simon is recognised as a leader in the field of corporate finance in Chambers Guide to the UK Legal Profession and The Legal 500 (Band 1 in both).
"Simon Hewes is praised by clients for his "pragmatic and balanced advice.He is highly regarded for his private equity and energy-related corporate transactional practice."
Chambers Guide 2017
