Peter’s client base is primarily within the tech sector; however he has significant experience in joint ventures and LLPs as well as in some general transactional corporate work.

Typically, his tech sector clients are serial entrepreneurs, who acquire, develop, raise finance, issue EMI shares, and enter into shareholders agreements as well as sell and reinvest. Often they have a secondary management team, who often go on and become serial entrepreneurs. Peter brings over 20 years of specialised experience to deals undertaken in the tech sector.  

The vast majority of clients that Peter works for have engaged in repeat business with some relationships spanning ten, 20 and even 20 plus years. Peter excels in client relationships, as clients recognise that he is unequivocally on their side and will do the upmost to achieve his clients’ desired outcomes.

An additional area of expertise is restructuring and insolvency. During the early 1990s, Peter dedicated several years to this field, and in 2010, his invaluable experience in handling financial challenges proved beneficial as many of his clients faced difficulties.

Peter joined Russell-Cooke in 2023 having been a partner at Moore Barlow since 1998. After its merger in 2020, Peter led the business division (corporate, employment and commercial) for the latter three years of his tenure. Prior to this, Peter was a partner at Pitmans.

Peter has advised on at least 50 deals in the technology sector. A significant 70% of his clients have maintained a working relationship with him for over a decade. While the majority of Peter's work involves transactions, typically falling within the £5m-£25m range, he has also handled many deals in the £30m-£60m bracket, with some exceeding this. Recent notable transactions include:

• Advised the shareholders of Simpson Associates, a leading Microsoft data transformation partner, on a strategic investment from Beech Tree Private Equity, helping secure funding to accelerate growth, broaden service capabilities and pursue strategic direction.

• Advised GCC Group, a leading ERP, CRM and managed IT services provider, on its sale to Xperience, creating one of the UK's largest SME digital solutions providers with more than 230 employees.

• Advised SEA-KIT International, a pioneering developer of autonomous marine vessels and uncrewed vessel technology, on the sale of the remaining shares in the business to global geodata specialist Fugro.

• Advised on multiple transactions with a combined value approaching £60 million ahead of the 2025-26 tax year-end, navigating accelerated deal timetables driven by Business Asset Disposal Relief changes and wider tax policy uncertainty. (Covered by Solicitors Journal here).

• Advised the vendors of a specialist IT services business on a circa £43 million sale, involving multiple shareholders, EMI option exercises, equity rollovers, minority shareholder arrangements and a complex earn-out, completed within a compressed pre-Budget timetable.

• Advised the shareholders of a property investment group on a significant corporate reorganisation following a shareholder succession event, involving share-for-share exchanges, intra-group transfers, share buybacks and substantial secured debt.

Peter is a longstanding committee member of the Russell-Cooke Silicon Cup Regatta, an IT networking event on UK waters that raises funds for charities. This event marries his expertise in the tech sector with his passion for sailing. Russell-Cooke has been the principal sponsor of the Regatta since 2023.