The founding and subsequent development of Watson, Farley & Williams has always been in a spirit of genuine enterprise and a desire to service clients in the best possible way.

How did we begin? Keen to satisfy a fast-growing list of international contacts, two talented ship finance partners at Norton Rose chose to break away in 1981. They were Martin Watson and Alastair Farley. Quickly joined by their colleague and aviation specialist Geoffrey Williams and a handful of others, they opened for business as Watson, Farley & Williams in the heart of the City of London in May 1982.       

As well as shipping and ship finance, the firm’s initial focus was on aviation and leasing finance, offshore oil and gas contracting, and tax. 

Within a month we had 19 financial institutions as clients – thanks to the formidable reputation of the founders and those who joined them soon afterwards. For the first 12 months the partners usually worked seven days a week.

Since then the firm’s unfolding history has always been based on an instinct for what our clients want and where in the world they want it, while expanding into sectors that fit rationally alongside our core strength of ship finance. In 2007, we celebrated our 25th anniversary. Celebrations included the publication of our history: the spirit of enterprise.

We have developed our financial practice across a broader range of transactions, particularly relating to cross-border investment and tax-efficient structures. Though our international reach is unusual for a firm of our size, we are always careful to move to where the market needs our particular skills. We opened two new offices in 2008: Munich, to satisfy the demand on our Hamburg office from the private equity sector, and Milan, to complement our Rome office – which has grown into a strong energy practice. In 2009 we opened our Madrid office with partners who specialise in energy, infrastructure and LNG.     

Responding to ever-changing and emerging sectors, we have applied our private equity and investment experience to advise new clients in renewable energy, natural resources and technology. We have also expanded our conventional power, transport and real estate work to address new challenges and opportunities facing those in existing markets.