Profile
Joel Wheeler focuses his practice on corporate and associated commercial matters, including public and private mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, commercial contracts, corporate re-domiciliations, and corporate restructurings. Joel has advised clients on a large number of cross-border transactions, including those involving China, the United States, Turkey, Chile, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Mexico, India and multiple European jurisdictions.
Joel is recognised in The Legal 500 M&A: Upper Mid-Market & Premium Deals £500m+. Comments include: “Extremely knowledgeable about the practice area. A great example of an international M&A practitioner.”; “Responsive, commercial and pragmatic”; and “Technically excellent whilst also being extremely commercial and strategic.”
Concentrations
- Real Estate
- Industrials
- Private equity
- Defence
- Commercial contracts including franchises
- Governance and compliance
Capabilities
Experience
- Acted on acquisition of land in Bedfordshire for the subsequent development of a major leisure destination in Europe.
- Acted for Blackstone and its portfolio company QTS on the acquisition of a 250-acre+ site in Northumberland to enable the potential development of a hyperscale data center campus
- Acted for Westbrook Partners on the disposal of its XK logistics portfolio to Blackstone
- Acted for Dream Industrial REIT on its acquisition from Clarion Partners of a €882 million portfolio of 31 logistics warehouses in six European jurisdictions
- Acted for Senior Capital Holdings LLC on its acquisition of Trans Atlantic Lifetime Mortgages Limited
- Acted for Pantaleon on its UK redomiciliation
- Acted for GlobalLogic on its acquisition of the ECS Group
- Acted for Rentokil Initial plc in connection with its Saudi Arabian joint venture
- Acted for the sellers on the sale of Enchanting Travels, the global travel business, to Travelopia
- Acted for Rentokil Initial plc on its Indian joint venture with Pest Control (India) Private Limited
- Acted for CIMC Vehicles on its acquisition of Retlan Manufacturing Limited
- Acted for a global restaurant business in connection with completion of the disposal of the master franchisee's Iberian business
- Acted for a global restaurant business in connection with its UK master franchise agreement
- Acted for Toys R Us on its redomiciliation from the UK
- Acted for Highbridge in relation to its equity investment in Stellium Datacenters Limited
- Partner, Crowell & Moring LLP
- Senior Associate, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
- Associate, Slaughter and May
- Trainee, Slaughter and May
Recognition & Leadership
- Recognised, The Legal 500 United Kingdom, 2022-2024
- Corporate and Commercial - M&A: Upper Mid-Market and Premium Deals, 2022-2023
- M&A: Lower Mid-Market Deals, 2024
- Team Member, PERE Global Awards, Law Firm of the Year: Fund Formation in Europe, 2018
Credentials
- Legal Practice Course (Distinction), College of Law Chester, 1995
- Common Professional Examination (Merit), College of Law Chester, 1994
- M.A. (Hons), Philosophy, Politics and Economics, University of Oxford, 1993
- England and Wales