Cat has been working in corporate law since she qualified as a solicitor with Stephens Scown in 2008.

A partner in the Corporate team, she advises business owners and SMEs on:

• Employee ownership (EO) particularly tax advantaged employee ownership trusts
• Share schemes particularly EMI schemes
• Management buyouts
• Business succession
• Share sales and purchases
• Group restructurings

Her work in share schemes, particularly EMI share schemes, involves advising companies on all aspects of their design and implementation. Cat also advises on the potential effect of transactions or departing employees on existing employee share schemes.

Recent examples of work undertaken includes:

• The sale of DCW to Suez (SUEZ acquires DCW)
• Advising on a complex majority employee ownership transition in the manufacturing sector in the SW involving bank finance
• Completing a 100% employee ownership transition in the healthcare sector
• Completing a multijurisdictional 100% employee ownership transition in the software sector
• creating tax compliant profit share policies to facilitate payment of the tax-free profit share to employees employed by companies which are qualifying employee ownership trusts
• providing extensive advice and support for an EO which completed several years ago to redraw the balance between the selling shareholders, the trust purchasing the shares and the management team

She has strong relationships with local accountants and is considered the “go to” legal advisor on employee ownership and is regularly invited to contribute to national legal publications due to her expertise in employee ownership.

Cat has a degree in History from the University of Sheffield. She subsequently undertook the Graduate Diploma in Law and the Legal Practice Course at the University of the West of England.

A charity trustee, she has also taken on a role as an Independent Trustee of an employee ownership trust to broaden her EO sector knowledge.

Outside of work Cat retains a keen interest in history and is a member of the National Trust, regularly visiting properties in the local area with her twin boys. She is a regular runner and can often be seen running around Exeter.