The Belfast office of global legal business DWF has acted as lead legal advisor in the completion of one of the North’s largest corporate deals.

Long-standing advisors to the Herbert Group, DWF played an instrumental role on the sale of its KFC business to EG Group, the Blackburn-based international forecourt and retail convenience operator.

Acquisition

The acquisition sees a portfolio of 146 KFC restaurants, 1 Pizza Hut store, a development pipeline, a small number of non-trading sites, and around 4,000 staff transfer to the EG Group.

The multi-jurisdictional transaction was led by Ken Rutherford, executive partner of DWF Belfast, and was supported by the corporate and real-estate teams in DWF’s offices in Belfast, Dublin and Edinburgh. 

Commenting on the transaction, Ken Rutherford (DWF) said: "Having worked closely with the Herbert Group for the last ten years, we are delighted to have played such a key role in this landmark sale, and we wish the KFC business every success under its new ownership." 

Value

Michael Herbert (Herbert Group) added: "The successful conclusion of this acquisition demonstrates the value of our long-standing relationship with DWF.

“The professional counsel and support provided by Ken and his team, together with DWF’s jurisdictional reach, has been instrumental in helping us reach today’s outcome.”

Osborne King also acted as property advisors on the deal.