International law firm Addleshaw Goddard acted as primary legal counsel to Finlays in the completion of its sale of its Kenyan tea estates business James Finlay (Kenya) Limited to Browns Investments PLC.

James Finlay Kenya is a leading grower, manufacturer and supplier of Kenyan tea. It covers a total self-contained area of 10,300 hectares, including 5,200 hectares of tea fields over nine tea estates. The sale includes all parts of James Finlay (Kenya) Limited except the Saosa tea extraction facility which will remain under Finlays’ ownership and will become known as ‘Finlays Extracts, Kenya’.

Headquartered in Colombo, Browns has a proud heritage in operating plantation businesses, owning Maturata Plantations, Hapugastenne Plantations PLC, and Udapussellawa Plantations PLC. It is one of the largest tea producing companies in Sri Lanka consisting of 49 individual estates that stretch across an area of over 30,000 hectares and employs over 10,000 individuals.

As part of the sale agreement, Browns and Finlays have mutually agreed to acknowledge the long-standing support of the local community by offering 15% of the shares in James Finlay (Kenya) Limited for sale to the Kipsigis Highlands Multipurpose Cooperative Society.

James Finlay Kenya, which will become known as ‘Browns Plantations Kenya’ in due course, is Brown’s first investment in the Kenyan tea industry which it sees as an exciting opportunity for growth. In December 2021, Browns acquired Finlays’ Sri Lankan tea estates business, which has gone from strength to strength, demonstrating Browns’ successful commitment to sustainable growth.

The Addleshaw Goddard core team included: Chris Taylor, Victor Oderinde, Aylin Oztas (Corporate), Al Mangan, Anna Davies (Competition), Catherine Concannon (Tax), David Berry, Lucinda Bailey, Jonathan Davies (Commercial) and Jacqueline Heng (Finance).