Carey Olsen has advised retail and food and beverage operator SandpiperCI on the sale of part of its Channel Islands food retail business to Morrisons.
The deal involves the sale of 37 stores and five fuel forecourts operating under the Iceland, Morrisons, Checkers Xpress, and Le Cocq’s Stores brands.
The Carey Olsen Jersey corporate and property teams led this cross-border acquisition, which included a pre-completion group reorganisation and advice on real estate, finance, employment, and pension matters for stores operating across Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney.
The corporate team was led by partner James Willmott (Jersey), principally supported by senior associate Steven Khan (Jersey) and associate Chris Oke (Jersey), while the real estate team was led by partner Will Whitehead (Jersey), who was principally supported by associate Eleanor Witterick (Jersey).
The core team had support from the firm’s Guernsey corporate and property teams, its employment and pensions team, and the Jersey finance team.
Senior associates Arya Hashemi (Guernsey) and Melissa Wilkins made up the Guernsey corporate team while counsel John Le Tissier (Guernsey) and senior associate Kieran Ogilvie (Guernsey) made up the Guernsey property team. The employment and pensions team included partner Huw Thomas (Jersey), counsel Tarina Le Boutillier (Jersey), counsel Julie Currie (Jersey), and associate Kim Courtney (Guernsey) with finance support provided by senior associates Nick Ghazi (Jersey) and Connor Alexander (Jersey).
James Willmott (pictured) commented: “SandpiperCI is a client we have advised from its inception through various acquisitions and divestments and an IPO, and we are proud to have continued to provide our support in this important transaction. It is gratifying to have again demonstrated Carey Olsen’s unique capacity in the Channel Islands to deliver a truly full service offering as lead counsel, especially on a local landmark transaction, from due diligence to completion using a range of expertise across our practice areas.”
