Patrick J. Harrison

PATRICK J. HARRISON advises on all aspects of EU and UK competition law. Patrick spent four years in Brussels before relocating to Sidley’s London office in 2007 and is admitted both as a Solicitor in England and Wales and as an Advocaat in Belgium. He has significant experience representing clients before the European Commission and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), securing favorable results for clients requiring regulatory approvals, or facing regulatory challenges.  

Patrick focuses his practice on merger control, cartel and dominance investigations, counselling, and compliance. He has also represented clients in EU and UK judicial review proceedings regarding both competition cases and legislation of broader application. In this context, he has pleaded a number of cases before the EU Courts.

Patrick has received acknowledgment from numerous industry ranking guides:

• Lexology Index 2026 – Recommended for Competition.
• Chambers Europe, Chambers Global, and Chambers UK 2025 – Ranked for Competition Law, sources commented “What sets him apart is his ability to look at the transaction as a whole. He is very rarely acting in a vacuum and he can tailor his advice accordingly.”
• Legal 500 UK 2025 – Ranked for EU and Competition.
  
• Chambers Europe, Chambers Global and Chambers UK 2024 – Ranked for Competition Law, where clients noted “Patrick has been a pleasure to work with. His knowledge of antitrust material is expansive and his contributions at meetings have been highly appreciated.”
• Legal 500 UK 2024 – Ranked for EU and Competition, where sources say “Patrick Harrison is a pleasure to deal with, both professionally and personally. He works well with the clients and runs the meetings with a sure hand.”
  
• Chambers UK 2023 – where clients describe him as “outstanding at understanding the regulatory issues but putting them in terms that our teams can understand so that they can make appropriate strategic decisions.”
• Chambers Europe 2023 – Ranked for EU Competition Law where clients noted “his client service level” as being “extraordinary, from his responsiveness to the clarity of the counsel he provided.”
• Legal 500 UK 2023 – Ranked for EU and Competition, where he is described as “an excellent partner.”
• Chambers Europe 2022 – Ranked for Competition Law, with clients saying he is “extremely hard-working and takes the time to listen to us.”
• Chambers UK 2022 – Ranked for Competition Law, sources commented that he is an “excellent antitrust lawyer, very pragmatic and knowledgeable, and a pleasure to work with.”
• Chambers UK 2021 – Ranked for Competition Law
• Chambers UK 2020 – Ranked for Competition Law, where clients described him as “articulate, clear and very responsive.”

Patrick is the contributing editor for the Lexology Panoramic: Vertical Agreements, publication and has published widely on EU and UK competition law issues. He has also presented at a number of industry events, including events organized by the American Bar Association and the UK’s Regulatory Policy Institute.

In recent years, Patrick has advised:

• Pictet Alternative Advisors in its acquisition of Technology Services Group Limited.
• IDEX Corporation in its US$1 billion acquisition of Mott Corporation.
• Buckthorn Partners in its US$210 Million Sale of Coretrax to Expro
• Rivean Capital on the acquisition of Green Mobility Holding GmbH.
• Recharge Industries, a portfolio company of Scale Facilitation, on its acquisition of Britishvolt Limited.
• TowerBrook Capital Partners on multiple deals, including:
  • its 2020 sale of metals recycler, Metallo, to rival Aurubis, a deal that was subject to a Phase II review by the European Commission but cleared unconditionally following arguments made at the Oral Hearing. The deal is one of only two cases in recent years that have proceeded to a formal Statement of Objections from the Commission but resulted in an unconditional approval;
  • its sale of and re-investment in Independent Clinical Services Group; and
  • its acquisition of UK-based restaurant chain, the Azzurri Group.
• Mastercard on the first investigation by the UK’s Payment Systems Regulator under the Competition Act 1998.
• A financial services provider in relation to the first investigation by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority under the Competition Act 1998.
• Recall Corporation in its acquisition by rival document management provider Iron Mountain, Inc. for US$2.6 billion. The deal was subject to a detailed Phase II investigation by the CMA, at the expiry of which it was approved subject to divestments which were limited to Northern Scotland.
• eBay, Inc. on its 2019 acquisition from Cox Automotive of Motors.co.uk, a UK-based vehicle advertising rival to eBay’s own eBay Motors and Gumtree Motors offerings. The UK’s CMA cleared the deal unconditionally at Phase I, notwithstanding that the CMA had initially raised concerns, and called the parties in for an Issues Meeting.
• Blackbaud, Inc. on the 2017 acquisition of its rival, JustGiving, the UK’s leading online charity donations platform. The CMA cleared the Blackbaud/JustGiving transaction unconditionally at Phase I, notwithstanding that the CMA had found the parties had a combined share of 70–80 percent in the UK online fundraising platforms sector.
• Mastercard Europe in relation to UK and EU judicial review proceedings regarding competition law-influenced aspects of the EU’s Interchange Fee Regulation and second Payment Services Directive.
• Japanese industrial manufacturer, Nidec Corporation, on the antitrust aspects of its US$1.1 billion acquisition of Embraco, a Brazil-based compressor manufacturer, a deal that was subject to parallel Phase II investigations in the EU, China, Mexico, Russia, and Ukraine.
• KKR on multiple deals, including:
  • its majority acquisition of Biosynth Carbosynth, a Swiss life sciences reagents and custom synthesis and manufacturing services company;
  • its investment in Nordic Bioscience, a Danish biomarker development company; and
  • its participation in a US$530 million funding round in Wolt, a leading European food delivery business based in Finland.
• Great Hill Partners in connection with its acquisition of Notonthehighstreet, a UK online marketplace.
• Arvelle Therapeutics, a Swiss-based biopharmaceutical company, on its sale to Angelini Pharma for a total cash consideration of up to US$960 million.

• Law Society of England and Wales European Group