LL4FD      Half Unit
Legal Aspects of Private Equity and Venture Capital

This information is for the 2025/26 session.

Course Convenor

Availability

This course will equip students with a detailed understanding of the legal structures and issues arising in international private equity and venture capital. It is founded on academic analysis of pertinent theoretical and legal issues complemented by insights from relevant practitioners.

The course will cover: private equity and venture capital fund structures and terms; regulation of fund managers in Europe; venture capital and buyout structures and terms; corporate governance in private equity-backed companies; and LBO financing terms. 

The course has a UK focus but will include relevant aspects of European Union law with comparative global perspectives.

10 hours of seminars and 20 hours of lectures in the Winter Term.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.

A choice of formative essays will be set and detailed feedback will be provided shortly after submission. The essay will have a word limit of 1,500 and will provide invaluable preparation for the summative assessment.

A full Reading List will be distributed during the course. For introductory purposes, students are referred to:

Gilligan, J. and Wright, M., Private equity demystified: An explanatory guide (2020, 4th edition, Oxford University Press),

Gullifer, L. and Payne J., Corporate Finance Law: Principles and Policy (2020, 3rd edition, Hart Publishing), Chapter 16 (Private Equity),

Hale, C. (ed), Private Equity: A Transactional Analysis (2024, 5th edition, Globe Law and Business),

Witney, S., Corporate Governance and Responsible Investment in Private Equity (2020, Cambridge University Press)

Exam (100%), duration: 150 Minutes in the Spring exam period