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  • Home
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  • James Goold
James Goold
James Goold

James Goold

Partner

  • London UK
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+44 20 7300 4207
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Featured award

Legal 500 UK 2022

Private equity transactions – mid-tier – up to £250m

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James is a private equity lawyer and a member of our UK Executive Board. Clients value his commercial awareness and clear-thinking in difficult situations. James's focus is on domestic and crossborder private equity transactions, where he mainly works for institutional investors, investee companies and management teams.

James is recognised as a leading private equity lawyer in the UK. He works across the UK, EU and international private equity sectors, and is experienced with management buyouts and buyins, leveraged buyouts, and venture and development capital investments acting for institutional investors, management teams, and investee companies. James can help you with all your corporate transactions including M&A, joint ventures, refinancings and other special situation investment opportunities.In his capacity as a Board Director, James is responsible for a number of the firm's practice areas in the UK, including Corporate.

Expertise

Services and Groups

Corporate/M&A & capital markets
Private equity
Joint ventures
General corporate
Investment funds
Public to private transactions
Exit strategies (private equity)
Management participation schemes
Fund structuring
Cross-border structurings for setting up new funds & investment vehicles
M&A

Sectors

Technology, media & communications
Consumer & retail
Financial institutions & insurance
Data centres

CV

Since 2017 Board Director, Taylor Wessing
2014 - 2017 Head of Private Equity, Taylor Wessing
2012 - 2014 Partner, Taylor Wessing
2003 - 2012 Partner, Jones Day
2002 - 2003 Partner, Gouldens
1996 - 2002 Associate, Gouldens
1994 - 1996 Trainee, Gouldens
1996 Admitted as a lawyer, England & Wales
1994 Legal Practice Course, College of Law
1993 Common Professional Exam, College of Law
1992 History degree, York University

Career

Since 2017 Board Director, Taylor Wessing
2014 - 2017 Head of Private Equity, Taylor Wessing
2012 - 2014 Partner, Taylor Wessing
2003 - 2012 Partner, Jones Day
2002 - 2003 Partner, Gouldens
1996 - 2002 Associate, Gouldens
1994 - 1996 Trainee, Gouldens

Education

1996 Admitted as a lawyer, England & Wales
1994 Legal Practice Course, College of Law
1993 Common Professional Exam, College of Law
1992 History degree, York University

Awards

Legal 500 UK 2022

Featured

Private equity transactions – mid-tier – up to £250m

Chambers UK 2020

Leading individual - Private Equity: Buyouts: Mid-Market (Band 5): James Goold is experienced in a variety of domestic and international private equity deals, including M&A, LBOs and MBOs. Interviewees appreciate his "sharp intellect and very refined technical skills."

Chambers UK 2020

Leading individual - Private Equity: Venture Capital Investment (Band 5)

Chambers UK 2019

Leading individual - Private Equity: Buyouts (Band 5): Clients consider James Goold to be a "calm and detailed" practitioner and a "thoroughly good individual." He represents a number of top private equity firms, companies and management teams in LBOs, MBOs and investment matters, among other transactions.

Leading individual - Private Equity (Buyouts) (Band 5): Department head James Goold has a dynamic private equity practice, acting for investor firms, management teams and investee corporates in a diverse array of transactional matters. Clients say: "We are continually impressed by James – he is always ready to go above and beyond to deliver for us."

Private equity transactions – mid-tier – up to £250m

Experience

Supporting Inflexion's sale of Xtrac

We advised leading mid-market private equity firm Inflexion, and the group's senior management team, on the sale of Xtrac, a market-leading manufacturer of transmissions systems for the motorsport and high-performance sectors.

Press release
James Goold
Alexandra Poland
Alex Walker
Alice Picton
Kate Hamblin

Supporting Inflexion's partnership with TC Group

We advised leading mid-market private equity firm Inflexion on its investment into Accountancy Age's ‘Top 30’ firm, TC Group, a provider of accountancy and taxation services to UK SMEs.

Press release
James Goold
Alexandra Poland
Sarah Wallace

Inflexion Private Equity

Advising Inflexion Private Equity on the sale of portfolio group, Glide.

Press release
James Goold

Rockpool Investments

Advising Rockpool Investments on investment in MomentumABM, an account-based marketing consultancy provider.

Press release
James Goold
Liz Wilson
Kate Bowden

Arcadia

Acting on the restructuring and CVA of the Arcadia group (including Top Shop, Top Man and Miss Selfridge).

Press release
Nick Moser
Stephen O'Grady
Kate Bowden
Mark Smith
Alexander Erskine
James Goold
Jonny Bethell
Mark Bennett

Inflexion Private Equity on the management buyout of Calco Group

Inflexion Private Equity on the management buyout of leading Dutch IT outsourcing training business Calco Group BV.

Press release
James Goold
Elmar Dijkstra
Bart Hunnekens

James's news & insights

View James's insights
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Private equity

Advising in L'Oréal's acquisition of premium British skincare brand Medik8

11 June 2025

by multiple authors

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Private equity

Advising Sullivan Street Partners on its sale of Tivoli

5 November 2024

by multiple authors

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Corporate/M&A & capital markets

Advising Inflexion on its investment into FDMUK Limited

22 July 2024

by multiple authors

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View James's insights

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