Norton Rose Fulbright supports One Equity Partners

Norton Rose Fulbright is advising One Equity Partners on the recommended cash acquisition of Kitwave Group plc, a leading delivered wholesale food distributor based in the UK. This significant transaction, announced on January 22, 2026, is valued at approximately £251 million and will be carried out through a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement. One Equity Partners, a middle-market private equity firm with a focus on the industrial, healthcare, and technology sectors, has completed over 400 transactions, seeking to create market-leading companies through strategic business combinations.

Kitwave Group operates as a delivered wholesale business, supplying impulse products, frozen, chilled, and fresh foods, as well as alcohol, groceries, and tobacco to around 46,000 predominantly independent customers. Norton Rose Fulbright is providing comprehensive legal counsel to One Equity Partners throughout this transaction, covering areas such as mergers and acquisitions, financing, regulatory compliance, competition laws, tax, employment issues, real estate, intellectual property, data protection, and environmental concerns.

Jamal Tuhin, a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright, expressed his satisfaction with the transaction by stating “We are pleased to have advised One Equity Partners on this significant transaction. Kitwave is a high quality business with a strong management team and a compelling growth strategy, and this acquisition reflects One Equity Partners’ continued focus on investing in market leading companies with clear buy and build potential.”

The Norton Rose Fulbright team overseeing this complex transaction was led by partners Jamal Tuhin and Kit McCarthy in London, bolstered by a multi-disciplinary group of specialists from across the firm. Alongside Tuhin and McCarthy, the team included partners James Collis in banking, Jamie Cooke in antitrust, competition and regulatory matters, Matthew Findley handling incentives, Dominic Stuttaford on tax, Andrew Reeves focused on ABC/AML, Wasim Khan in real estate, and Lucy Bruce Jones addressing environmental, safety, and planning issues.

Additional support came from counsel Alex Green, as well as employment specialists Ben Wright and Nick Howard. The experienced team also comprised senior associates Alex Collerton, Kimberley Lyons, Juliette Kelly, and Claudia Van Gruisen, along with various associates who played vital roles across corporate, banking, and real estate functions among others. This deal reinforces the collaborative efforts of Norton Rose Fulbright in facilitating major transactions within the private equity landscape