Gowling WLG's top ranked investment funds team acted for Investec Bank plc ("Investec"), the sponsor and broker to the Smithson Investment Trust ("Smithson") which raised £822 million on its recent IPO.

Smithson, which is managed by Fundsmith LLP, will invest in small and mid-cap global entities and is the latest investment vehicle of Terry Smith the renowned fund manager.

Partner Nick Heather led the Gowling WLG team on the transaction. He said: "This was a record breaking fund raise beating the previous £800 million raised by Neil Woodford's Patient Capital three years ago, a transaction which we also acted on. We were delighted to advise Investec on such a successful IPO, which was even more impressive as it got away in the context of an otherwise tough new issue market where other issues have been struggling or have been pulled."

Gowling WLG's leading investment funds team (Tier 1 Legal 500) has a strong reputation in terms of closed end listed funds, advising issuers, investment houses and the banks and brokers that advise them. It brings together experts in tax, corporate, finance, regulatory and dispute resolution to provide a full legal service to its clients.