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Rick Smyth

Partner, Corporate

Area of expertise
BankingCommercialCorporate

About Rick:

Rick is a partner in the Corporate team at Wilkes, with nearly 30 years of expertise in mid-market corporate finance transactions. He specialises in leading mergers and acquisitions (M&A), EOT’s, MBO’s, banking, private equity, and investment transactions, handling 8-10 major deals annually. Rick has personally led over 300 transactions within the £5m-50m enterprise value range. In addition, Rick has extensive experience in group reorganisations, tax restructuring, shareholder protection and employee incentives such as EMI and other share option schemes.

Rick also heads up the firms’ Core Compliance Team – helping OMB’s become compliant in the core compliance area’s such as Anti-Bribery and Corruption, Anti-Modern Slavery, Competition, as well as the Companies Act 2006.

Rick also leads the firm’s Exit Optimisation Programme for owner managers, assisting them to prepare for exit and ensure that they optimise both value and the chances of a successful exit. To join one of our Workshops

 

Contact Rick:

0121 710 5932

LinkedIn profile

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Frequently works with:
Business Recovery & TurnaroundCommercial Dispute ResolutionEmploymentReal Estate
Rick Smyth

Credentials

Recognised in the 2025 Legal 500 as a key lawyer, Rick frequently collaborates with departments such as Employment, Real Estate, and Private Client. His recent work includes advising on the award-winning sale of Star Group Live to LDC and the management buyout of Stalis Limited.

Rick is also a former regional chairman and committee member of KidsOut (Midlands) – raising funds and support for children in refuges and their families across the UK. A keen musician, Rick is also key member of the corporate finance charity group ‘Demons of Tune,’ which has helped to raise over £300K for good causes over the last 20 years through live music events.

Testimonials

In a realm where precision, astuteness, and integrity are paramount – Rick and Kiran have these characteristics in abundance.

Working recently on a relatively small but complex deal, Rick and Kiran demonstrated unyielding attention to my brief, providing meticulous advice and advocating superbly for my position with opposing counsel.

Their commitment went far beyond my expectations, including a late-night deal completion – a real credit to the industry.

Adam Winwood, CEO of Connective Online Limited

We felt confident throughout the negotiations that Rick and the team were completely on top of the deal and helping to drive the process to completion. We are grateful for their help, expertise and energy.

Alan Smart – CEO, Smarts Holdings

Rick Smyth is the stand-out legal adviser for SME/owner-managed businesses in the West Midlands. Yes, his legal knowledge is second to none, but beyond that he comes up with commercial and creative solutions for clients facing a range of business challenges. For owner-managers who want trusted business advisers rather than legal technicians, this skill set distinguishes Rick from his peers.

Client Feedback – The Legal 500 2024

We greatly appreciated Rick and the team’s pragmatic and proactive approach – helping us navigate both the process and overcome some tricky technical issues. We look forward to working with them again on our future corporate acquisitions and view them as very much part of our team.

David Walley – CEO Mobile Promotions

I have been working with the Wilkes team for over 5 years now. Rick Smyth and Lucy Freeman have been with us since acquiring our first business which was the beginning of our journey that eventually led to the Star deal. Since then, we have completed three significant acquisitions together, as well as a host of other related transactions which helped us to develop and grow the business and to navigate the turbulent COVID pandemic. We have also had great assistance from other teams across the firm, including immigration, property, commercial contracts and litigation.

We have always found the Wilkes team to be proactive, approachable and capable. They have been invaluable in helping us solve the problems that we have faced and in taking advantage of business opportunities. They worked incredibly hard to help us deliver on the LDC investment. We were delighted to have Rick and his team with us on this deal.

David Walley, Executive Chairman at Star Live

Wilkes has been our longstanding legal partner, so when we initiated Project Redwood, we naturally looked to them to guide us through an unfamiliar process. Rick, and his colleagues, not only provided a full legal service but coordinated with other advisers to ensure that the transaction was completed on the target date. Despite a busy run-up to Christmas, and several other completion deadlines looming, the Wilkes team pulled out all stops to meet our goals. As with most transactions, there were complexities to be considered along the way; Rick was always available at short notice to provide wise counsel and pragmatic advice. We enjoy working with Wilkes, and have always found them to be engaging, professional and diligent, with a good commercial understanding of our business.

Ian Wilson, Group Chairman of Benx Limited

We were hugely impressed by the way in which Wilkes handled the acquisition of Martin International limited.   Rick and the rest of the Wilkes team expertly guided us through both the funding and the acquisition process. We would not hesitate to recommend their services to other businesses.

John McGurk – McGurk Performance Cars

I can always rely on Rick Smyth get to the heart of a business issue (not just the legal aspects) and come up with a creative solution that works for all parties. A skilled negotiator and trusted adviser to business owners.

The Legal 500 2025 Edition

Rick Smyth is able to effectively communicate complex legal issues in a clear and understandable way.

The Legal 500 2025 Edition

We have been working with Wilkes for a number of years and always appreciate their pragmatic approach to getting the job done. We look forward to working with Rick and the Wilkes team again on transactions of this nature.

Mark Freer – BGF

Thank you to Rick Smyth and the Corporate team for a great service through this transaction (as was the same with the ICB transaction last month). They were all super helpful at all times and are a pleasure to work with.

Mark Winter, Managing Director, MW Business Consultancy Ltd.

We are very grateful to Rick and the Wilkes team for their support over the last few years. Their considerable experience in negotiating, as well as their pragmatic and timely response to whatever issues came up, were invaluable in and on helping us achieve a successful exit.

Wayne Woodhead – MD, Silverwing UK

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