Olswang claims corporate finance house first in UK

FINANCE: City law firm moves beyond legal advice

City practice Olswang is claiming to be the first law firm to set up a corporate finance house in the UK following its launch of LongAcre - an independent finance house focusing on IT and media clients.

The development is being sponsored by JP Morgan Corsair II Capital Partners, JP Morgan's dedicated $1 billion investment fund, which has taken a 15% share in the new company.Olswang was founded in 1981 but its specialisation in the new media and technology fields has ensured its expansion into a mid-sized firm with profits (370,000 per partner) of a much larger firm.The partners decided that there was a need among clients for an independent finance house to provide advice on strategy, fundraising, and mergers and acquisitions.Jonathan Goldstein, managing partner of Olswang, is currently the chief executive officer of LongAcre.

He said his role was non-operational and his primary purpose is to build the new team and establish the client base.

He said he did not believe there would be a conflict of interest in his two roles.

He confirmed that the company was embarking on a 'substantial public relations campaign'.Other members of the new board of LongAcre include Simon Olswang, chairman of the law firm, Steve Smith, a former managing director of the equity department at UBS Warburg, and Ignacio Jayanti, a partner at Corsair.

Jeremy Fleming