Fionnghuala Griggs - Global Co-Head of FinTech
Fionnghuala (Finn) advises on cross-border public and private M&A transactions, with a particular focus on the financial institutions sector. She has particular expertise in the UK ring-fencing regime and bank structural reform. She also counsels clients on general corporate governance matters.
Fionnghuala was instrumental in developing a successful private company scheme of arrangement under the UK Companies Act 2006 to implement a merger of equals between two private companies with large shareholder bases, in reliance on the statutory process more commonly used for public company takeovers.
Fionnghuala previously completed secondments to the M&A legal team within Lloyds Banking Group and to the Financial Regulatory Group in Linklaters, providing her with in-depth knowledge of financial regulation in an M&A context and of the FIG sector.
Fionnghuala was named as one of Management Today’s 35 Women Under 35 in July 2016.
Fionnghuala has acted for clients in many major corporate transactions. These include advising:
Deutsche Börse on its merger with London Stock Exchange Group (ultimately not completed due to the European Commission decision not to approve the merger), which entailed complex structuring and alignment of UK and German takeover regimes
Alent on the £1.4bn recommended offer by Platform Speciality Products effected through a scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006
Investec on its disposal of the Kensington Group
Anglo American on the disposal of its 50% shareholding in Lafarge-Tarmac to its JV partner LafargeHolcim
Lloyds Banking Group on aspects of the creation and disposal of TSB Banking Group
HSBC on the disposal of its retail banking and insurance business in Panama
Egg Banking on the disposal of its business through a series of separate transactions, including the transfer of its deposits and mortgage loans business through a Part VII Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) banking business transfer scheme
the administrators of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) on a proposed scheme of arrangement to allow the distribution of certain assets to creditors
Richard Hay - UK Head of FinTech
Richard’s focus is derivatives and structured products. He is a member of the FMLC Working Group on DLT Governing Law and Jurisdiction. He is also a CFA charterholder. Richard has considerable experience in advising clients across the fintech ecosystem particularly in relation to clearing and settlement systems, broker-dealers, investment banks on cutting-edge platforms and more recently in the token offerings space. Select experience includes advising: a consortium of financial institutions on the development of a DLT-based payment and settlement system; various FinTech start-ups as to token offerings, including legal characterisation and regulatory treatment; a leading exchange in the design and implementation of a commodities platform; a world-wide payment system on its settlement arrangements; and a consortium of clearing members on various aspects of OTC clearing arrangements. Richard was seconded to the Financial Markets Law Committee at the Bank of England as Legal Assistant. Prior to joining Linklaters, he was an Analyst and sales-trader at Barclays Capital.
Julian Cunningham-Day
Julian has been in Linklaters’ Technology group since qualification, and he is a Co-leader of the global Telecoms, Media and Technology sector group. He has a wide practice encompassing regulatory and commercial financial services work, all aspects of information governance, IT and outsourcing contracts, e-commerce and media work. His particular focus is working in highly regulated industries such as financial services, telecoms, professional services, utilities and the public sector, where he can combine his regulatory and commercial expertise. In recent years he has advised many financial services companies on their strategies for addressing digital risks and opportunities.