THERE was a £238m deal on the table - and this legal eagle in Hampshire sorted out the nitty-gritty.

Mark Shepherd, pictured, a Southampton-based corporate finance partner of south coast law firm Blake Lapthorn Linnell (BLL), steered Irish food company Kerry Group through the small print of its purchase of Quest Food Ingredients.

Quest, a division of chemicals giant ICI, produces emulsifiers, cultures and proteins for snacks and confectionery and employs 930 staff.

ICI was keen to offload Netherlands-based Quest because problems there had contributed towards a dip in pre-tax group profits of £341m last year - down 15 per cent on 2002.

Kerry, in turn, sees Quest as a door-opener to the global food industry growth areas of health, nutrition and food safety.

Potential applications include using nutritional additives in intravenous drips in hospitals. Kerry was able to exchange contracts with ICI within three weeks from the start of its due diligence exercise. Richard Tassell, BLL's client partner for Kerry, said: "The transaction team, led by Mark Shepherd, performed outstandingly."

BLL has acted for Kerry Group for many years, notably in the £470 million Dalgety Food Ingredients transactions, and it has developed a special relationship with Kerry's legal and commercial teams. BLL employs 80 people in Southampton, 121 in Fareham and 172 in Portsmouth, with other offices in Oxford and London.