|
Partner
Head of Franchising, Retail & Distribution
Corporate & Commercial
Property & Construction
Restructuring & Turnaround
Current practice
Bruce has a wide range of experience in commercial transactions including:
- sales and purchases of business/private mergers, acquisitions and divestments;
- franchising, licensing and distribution agreements;
- drafting and advising on commercial property sales and acquisitions;
- commercial leasing;
- due diligence, structuring and acquistion advice;
- private capital raisings and share subscriptions;
- business ownership or relationship agreements (shareholders agreements, partnerships and joint ventures); and
- general commercial agreements.
Clients and recent experience
Bruce has been involved in a number of private transactions including:
- advising Telcoinabox on its franchise structure and international expansion;
- acting for numerous landlords, tenants, franchisors and franchisees in drafting and advising on commercial leases;
- acted for Reward Advantage (Development) in relation to a $450 million joint venture development in Tannum Waters, Queensland;
- acting for PPC (UK) in the acquisition of the OSA Group;
- advising WH Greenhams & Sons on proposed acquisition of the Tasman Group;
- advising 333 Capital in potential acquisition of a minority interest of large retail franchisor;
- advising Metcash Limited in relation to franchise and alliance documentation;
- acting for the vendors in a $35 million sale of shares in a plumbing contracting business to Hastie Group Limited;
- acting for AXA Australia in acquiring all of the shares in ipac (Dublin) and in acquiring a number of financial planning businesses;
- acting for Monash College Group in acquiring ISPC internship business;
- acting for The Good Guys in various leasing negotiations;
- acting for Franklyn Scholar in its capital raising and acquisitions of three separate RTOs;
- acting for Bendigo and Adelaide Bank in relation to the Community Energy Australia fuel distribution agreement; and
- numerous joint ventures, shareholders agreements, unitholder agreements and other commercial contracts.
Bruce’s clients include public and private companies in the financial services, energy and retail sectors, franchisors, franchisees, landlords, equity investors, commercial property developers and a variety of other businesses including AXA Australia, ipac, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited, Unigas, Monash College Group, 333 Capital, Telcoinabox, The Good Guys, Moore Stephens Australia, United Dairy Power and Brite Australia.
Qualifications and personal affiliations
Bruce has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Economics from Monash University and has partly completed a Master of Laws at the University of Melbourne. He became partner in 2005.
Bruce is a FCA Victorian Committee Member, a member of the Law Institute of Victoria, the Australia Corporate Lawyers Association, the Franchise Council of Australia and Family Business Australia.
|