Bio

Ian is a corporate partner. He advises on the whole life-cycle of a company’s activity including fundraisings, acquisitions and exit. He is a recommended M&A lawyer in Legal 500 2017, which says “The strong, bright, very experienced Ian Brent fights his clients’ corner well and is very knowledgeable, particularly in the recruitment sector”. Ian’s clients span many sectors but he has a particular focus on the tech and recruitment sectors. He acts for many entrepreneurs and SMEs and a number of his deals involve private equity, either acting for them or selling to them. In his 27 years as a lawyer, Ian has acted on over 250 M&A transactions. In 2017 he led two transactions for listed companies – the acquisition by AIM listed recruiter Hydrogen Group PLC of the Argyll Scott Group and by Swedish company Opus of Autologic Diagnostics, a world leader in advanced aftermarket automotive diagnostics. His 2017 deals also included the sale of the educational software company Teachers2Parents to Education Brands, a company backed by Insight, a US private equity firm and the MBOs of two recruitment firms. Ian heads the firm’s private equity team.