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Claire Wills

Partner

Financial services | Fintech | Insurance | Mergers and acquisitions |

Outstanding service all around. Claire Wills provides strong commercial advice.

Chambers UK 2023

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About Claire Wills

Claire is a top ranked corporate partner in our London office.

Claire focuses on public and private M&A for key clients of the firm, as well as advising boards on shareholder defence activism, crisis management and governance.  

Claire became a partner in May 2001. She has served in many senior roles at the firm including co-chairing our partner recommendation committee, leading our global financial institutions sector group and, most recently, as London managing partner. Claire is a senior and experienced lawyer that handles complex and challenging situations in a calm and commercial way to deliver for her clients.

Recent work

  • Advising Hargreaves Lansdowne on its public takeover by a private equity consortium.
  • Advising J.P. Morgan on its acquisitions of Nutmeg, Global Shares and its stake in Viva Wallet. 
  • Advising Aberdeen Asset Management on its all-share merger with Standard Life.
  • Advising HSBC on Saudi British Bank’s merger with Alawwal Bank and on a number of non-core disposals including part of its Cayman banking business to Butterfield Bank.
  • Advising Barclays on its recent disposal of its German retail business to BAWAG, its  acquisition of Standard Life Bank, Goldfish Credit Card and on its disposal of Barclays Bank Russia and other non-core disposals (including Barclays Wealth disposal of its offshore trust and fiduciary business).
  • Advising ReAssure on their acquisition of the mature savings business of Legal & General.
  • Advising Prudential UK on the sale of its joint venture stake in the health and protection business to Discovery.
  • Advising Tesco on a number of acquisitions and disposals, including its recent disposal of Tesco Bank, its public takeover of Booker, its disposal of its Thai business and its Korea business, the carve-out of Tesco Bank from RBS and the carve-out of Tesco Insurance to create Tesco Insurance.