Advising Coherent on its sale of UK manufacturing site

Coherent Corp., the global leader in materials, networking, and lasers, has sold its manufacturing site in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, UK to the UK Government.

The sale is part of Coherent's ongoing efforts to streamline operations and optimise its global footprint following a strategic review. We advised Coherent on its original acquisition of the 310,000 square feet plant, located in Aycliffe Business Park, in 2017.

Our team was led by William Belcher (partner), Charlotte Whalley (senior counsel), Bryce Bartlett (senior associate) and Olivia MacLellan (senior associate). 

The transaction required specialist advice across multiple practice areas involving the following lawyers:

Corporate finance

Will Zhang (senior associate), Kayla Sinclair (associate) and Nuria Ashmore-Barrios (associate)

Tax & Incentives

Liz Wilson (partner), Sally Robertson (senior associate), Freddie Knottenbelt (associate)

Real Estate

Emma Oakley (partner), Joanna Bassett (senior associate), Francesca Gibbs (associate), Anna-Mariya Angelinova (associate)

Competition

Paolo Palmigiano (partner), Louisa Penny (senior counsel)

Employment, Pensions and Mobility

Vikki Wiberg (senior counsel) and Afshan Malik (senior counsel)

Technology, IP & information

Graham Hann (partner), Victoria Hordern (partner), Kelly Burke (senior counsel) and Laura Craig (associate)