We are recognised as one of the leading building societies and mutuals teams in the UK. We advise more than 30 of the UK's 42 building societies, as well as numerous other clients in the wider mutuals sector both in the UK and beyond, including mutual deposit-takers, mutual insurers, major employee owned mutuals, friendly societies, co-operatives and credit unions. 

We have advised on significant, ground-breaking transactions, including all 24 recent building society mergers, Coventry Building Society’s £780m acquisition of The Co-operative Bank, and Nationwide’s £2.9bn acquisition of Virgin Money.

Our multi-disciplinary team includes specialists with sector experience across all of our key practice areas including, amongst other things, corporate M&A and strategic transactions (both voluntary and distressed), directors' duties, constitutional and governance advice, regulatory advice and investigations, disputes, commercial, data protection, competition, HR and treasury, this enables us to take a practical and commercial approach. 

We work closely with regulators, and participate in industry working groups and help shape legal and regulatory change affecting the sector.

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From the largest retail and investment banks through to the newest market entrants, We support our clients on their most strategic and innovative transactions and initiatives, helping them future-proof against industry changes and developments.

We actively help clients to manage their digital transformation projects, restructure their businesses, implement regulatory change, navigate the ESG landscape, and rethink their use of tech and data. We do this for numerous multi-bank transactions, joint ventures and have experience in treasury. Our familiarity with the broad spectrum of products and services made available by financial services business enables us to help our clients to innovate and bring new products and services to market. 

When first mover advantage can be crucial, our ability to navigate existing regulation in new contexts and provide robust advice swiftly helps our clients to succeed. When things go wrong or disputes arise, clients need holistic advice. 

Not only do we have an outstanding reputation for dispute resolution, but we also have the expertise to factor in the regulatory context and exposure. We also have specialists who routinely advise on managing reputational risk.

We have extensive experience in conducting financial services investigations and enforcement, helping you manage your relationship with regulators and advising on contentious regulatory issues such as market abuse, misconduct, AML controls, and complaints handling.

We have a long history and active presence in the wealth and investment sector. Our multidisciplinary team combines expertise from our private client, regulatory, transactional and investment disciplines. Together, they support our clients across all legal and regulatory aspects in the wealth management landscape. 

As private capital continues to play a greater role in the sector, we work seamlessly across our private capital, private equity, and equity capital markets practices to advise on investment structures, fundraising, and the strategic deployment of capital. Our market-leading Private Client and Trusts practice includes lawyers who are themselves investors, bringing a practical, real-world perspective to our advice.

We have seen an increase in acquisition and consolidation activity, often backed by private equity. Our team regularly advises on both the transactional and regulatory aspects of this activity, supporting management teams and regulated firms as they navigate complex deals, integrations, and ongoing compliance requirements.

We also guide our clients through the regulatory lifecycle. We support them from initial authorisation and perimeter assessments through strategic projects, including variations of permission and implementation of new frameworks.

Our regulatory lawyers combine private practice and in-house experience to deliver market-relevant and pragmatic advice. 

With financial services specialists based in London and Edinburgh, and support from our offices. We are well-placed to assist clients with cross-border issues and evolving regulatory regimes across key international markets.

In an era where digital finance is embedded within the financial services sector, Addleshaw Goddard is at the forefront of the evolving legal and regulatory landscape and technological innovation.

Our Digital Assets, Payments and Fintech Group brings together an international, multi-disciplinary team across these distinct yet interconnected areas to deliver end to end support to clients operating in the digital finance space – from scaling Fintechs to payment service providers and crypto firms to 'high-street' financial services companies.

Whether you are exploring the potential of blockchain, launching a Fintech solution, or expanding your payments infrastructure or customer payment journeys, our team of industry experts are equipped to guide you through the complexities and opportunities of the digital finance revolution.

Digital Assets 

We provide comprehensive regulatory guidance and legal advice, catering to the needs of both innovative start-ups and well-established financial entities. 

Our team is proficient in navigating the complex legal environment surrounding blockchain innovations and digital asset initiatives, offering expertise in areas from cryptocurrency to CBDCs to NFTs and beyond. With a deep understanding of blockchain technology and the broader spectrum of digital assets, we aim to transform regulatory hurdles into competitive advantages for our clients. 

Our unique blend of experience in financial market regulation and a thorough grasp of the fintech and blockchain industries, ensures that you are not only compliant with existing laws but also strategically positioned for future success.

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Payments

We have one of the most well-established payments practices and have worked on the some of the highest profile and innovative payments projects of the last decade. 

Our lawyers frequently advise payment service providers, technology companies, retailers and banks on a range of payments systems, payment methods (including cards and alternative payment methods), and the underlying infrastructure that supports and connects the payments value chain.

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Fintech

Fintech and disruption have become synonymous. From cross-border currency transactions to peer-to-peer lending, fintech firms globally are harnessing the sharing economy and growing connectedness of customers to improve accessibility and cost-effectiveness of financial services.

AG's global, multi-disciplinary specialists have advised both start-up and scale-up fintechs as well as financial institutions looking to harness emerging technologies and PE/VE investors in the sector. 

We are highly active in the wider fintech community, and operate our own accelerator program, AG Elevate. We have advised international governments, regulatory bodies and trade bodies on developments in the fintech and financial services landscape, putting us at the forefront of issues impacting the sector. We have also been at the cutting edge of Open Banking.

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Our team advises clients on a broad range of insurance transactional, regulatory, commercial, and contentious matters covering a wide remit from the exceptional to the everyday. 

Whether we're advising on corporate transactions, reinsurance, distribution arrangements, product development, conduct risk, regulatory interventions or policyholder disputes, we have specialists with in-depth insurance industry experience.

The insurance sector is unique in engaging a range of disciplines and sectors and our team regularly works with insurers, brokers and policyholders to identify and manage business and legal risks to achieve your goals.

Our transactional work includes complex and high-profile M&A transactions, insurance business transfers, structured reinsurance arrangements and advisory work. Our disputes team advises on claims, coverage and reinsurance disputes and other contentious matters.

We couple this with a market leading regulatory and compliance offering and in-depth knowledge of the regulatory framework in which the insurance sector operates.

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As part of our broader private capital offering, we support investors, intermediaries and asset managers on the full range of commercial, regulatory and transactional issues. 

Our advice spans fund structuring, regulatory compliance, tax planning, and complex deal execution, ensuring clients have robust legal support across every stage of the investment cycle.

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