Russell Cooke Putney London 2

About Jonathan

I always try to achieve my client’s objective in the quickest possible time at the minimum cost and fuss. I am not wedded to process or norms. I am not afraid to give firm advice even if it is not what someone wants to hear.

Jonathan is a hugely experienced, empathetic, and skilled practitioner. He deals with acquisitions and disposals, company reorganisations, corporate finance, banking arrangements and funding rounds, as well as shareholder, partnership and LLP agreements.

No nonsense, uncomplicated with a good eye for the detail that matters and an instinct for where the commercial risk lies in any transaction, Jonathan’s 35+ years of transactional experience leave him with few peers in his field. He knows what matters, and the many things that don’t. While being technically rigorous and highly able, he focuses on the ‘real money’ issues for clients, not the invariably academic technicalities which so many lawyers love and so many clients loathe.

Jonathan is particularly skilled at framing the big picture on deals, bespoke structuring of the key elements of that deal and then avoiding getting lost in the weeds while ensuring the deal gets over the line. Not for nothing do his clients say that he “never turns up with an ego… has good practical ideas and is not immune to alternatives”.

He specialises in higher value or complex share and business sales and joint ventures and has advised a wide range of established businesses and entrepreneurs across a broad range of industry sectors including property investment and development, manufacturing, retail, logistics and project management, IT and telecommunications, creative enterprises and professional & business services.

Jonathan also regularly advises creative and professional businesses on their shareholding and business development structures including in particular, issues relating to exit and succession planning, corporate restructuring, management buy outs and conversion to LLP (limited liability partnership) status.

Jonathan is also the firm’s Senior Partner and a Notary Public.

He intellectually adores what he does which makes it easier for him to be consistently up to the challenge.
The Legal 500 (2023)
A rarity in his field, he never turns up with an ego and so whilst he tends to have very good practical ideas he is not immune to alternatives
The Legal 500 (2022)

Awards and accreditations

Jonathan's highlights

News

26.06.2025

Russell-Cooke advises on the sale of Enterprise Digital Resources

Russell-Cooke has advised the sellers of Enterprise Digital Resources, experts in ERP recruitment solutions, on its sale to Org Group...
Jonathan Thornton, Deputy Senior Partner of Russell-Cooke Solicitors and head of the corporate and commercial law team. Sally Johnston, Senior associate in the Russell-Cooke Solicitors, corporate and commercial team. Emma Shipp, Director of client services in the Russell-Cooke Solicitors, corporate and commercial team. Aashay Knight, Senior associate in the Russell-Cooke Solicitors, corporate and commercial team.
Multiple Authors
1 min Read
Jonathan Thornton, Sally Johnston, Emma Shipp, Aashay Knights
News

29.11.2024

Get your company in order: the benefits of pre-sale due diligence

A pre-sale due diligence exercise is a recommendation to all sellers planning to sell their company or business...
Jonathan Thornton, Deputy Senior Partner of Russell-Cooke Solicitors and head of the corporate and commercial law team.
Jonathan Thornton
4 min Read
News

02.10.2024

Russell-Cooke boosts Legal 500 recognition with 28 ranked practice areas and 36 ranked individuals

The Legal 500 UK has published its directory for 2025, again recognising Russell-Cooke’s breadth of expertise across a wide range of practice areas...
Jonathan Thornton, Deputy Senior Partner of Russell-Cooke Solicitors and head of the corporate and commercial law team.
Jonathan Thornton
2 min Read
View all News & Insights