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Lawrence Stephens acted on behalf of the shareholders of the Heath Crawford and Foster Group in a complex transaction to complete the sale of Heath Crawford & Foster Holdings Limited including its subsidiaries, Heath Crawford & Foster,  ABA Insurance and Merenda & Co Limited  to The Clear Group, the award winning and leading insurance group.

Heath Crawford & Foster was founded in 1982 by Paul Weinberg, who will continue with his team to drive forward its growth strategy under The Clear Group umbrella. The acquisition is a continuation of The Clear Group’s long-term consolidation strategy to build a balanced and sustainable business.

The deal was led by Lawrence Stephen’s Director and Head of Corporate and Commercial, Jeff Rubenstein, with support from Associates, Charlotte Hamilton and Aashay Knights, Solicitors, Isobel Moran, Lucy Cadley and Carla Bernstein, and with property aspects being handled by Director, Nick Marshall. As a full service law firm this deal highlighted the effort across the Corporate and Property teams at Lawrence Stephens that enabled this complex transaction to come to an efficient completion.

Jeff Rubenstein comments on the deal: “Having met Paul Weinberg many years ago, I was delighted that we were chosen to represent Paul and his team on a deal which I am convinced will strengthen the trajectory of The Clear Group’s consolidation plans and broader offerings. This transaction strengthens our position as lawyers who have an in-depth knowledge and expertise acting for owner managers in the financial services and insurance broker market.

We were delighted by the collaborative nature of all involved both from The Clear Group and its external legal  advisors in showing a  willingness to get the deal done.”

Paul Weinberg comments on the deal: “Jeff and the team at Lawrence Stephens provided clear and sensible legal and commercial advice throughout. When things became more complex, they were able to address each aspect of the deal. They displayed patience, creativity and resilience whilst at the same time kept up the momentum to get the deal across the line. We were delighted to have them by our side.”