About
Anthony Theau-Laurent is a partner in Accuracy’s London office and co-leads Accuracy’s global arbitration practice. He has over 20 years of experience in providing advice and expertise on business, valuation and accounting matters, in both contentious and non-contentious contexts.
Anthony’s expertise lies in the assessment of damages in complex, multi-faceted disputes. He has been recognised among the leading expert witnesses for quantum of damages by Who’s Who Legal since 2016, where he is described as a “highly impressive expert witness” who “impresses courts and tribunals alike”. He has given evidence in commercial and investment treaty arbitrations before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, ICSID, UNCITRAL, LCIA, ICC, SCAI, SCC, DIFC and other forums. He has also acted in matters before courts such as the UK High Court and the Tribunal de Commerce in France.
Anthony also regularly advises investors and organisations in strategic situations, such as mergers and acquisitions or the improvement of financial performance, and leads financial investigations in relation to allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption. Recent examples include advising a listed infrastructure fund on its strategy to improve returns, advising a listed software provider on a multi-billion reverse take-over, and acting as monitoring trustee on behalf of the French Competition Authority.
He is bilingual in French and English.
Qualifications
- Master of Sciences degree from HEC School of Management in Paris
In-depth expertise
Anthony has particular expertise in the assessment of damages arising from, inter alia, breaches of commercial contracts, shareholder agreements, expropriation, construction delays and fraud. His disputes work primarily involves the valuation of lost profits, assets and businesses.
Much of Anthony’s work in recent years has been in an international context, involving cross-border disputes, transactions and investigations in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle-East, Africa, North America and Asia.
These assignments covered a wide range of sectors including energy, utilities, mining, construction, civil engineering, manufacturing, distribution, media, retail and software.
Example of engagements
Assessment of complex damages arising from:
- Expropriations, market evictions or unlawful terminations of commercial agreements in relation to, for example, mining concessions and assets in Central Asia (ICSID, UNCITRAL), service agreements in the Middle East (BCDR-AAA) and Europe (ICSID), and land usage rights in Africa (ICC Paris).
- Breaches of commercial agreements, including the distribution of consumer goods in the Middle East (DIFC-LCIA) and the distribution of broadcast rights in the Middle East (ICC Paris).
- Breaches of joint-venture agreements, recently in the food and beverage industry (ICC Paris) and the automotive industry (ICC Tokyo).
- Fraudulent misrepresentations and breaches of warranties consecutive to, for example, the acquisition of a civil engineering company in the Middle East (High Court of England and Wales) and the acquisition of waste management assets in Europe (ICC Milan).
- Business interruption and construction delays in relation to, amongst others, a property development project in Turkey (ICSID), the delivery of a manufacturing plant in the UK (LCIA) and the relocation of a manufacturing plant (High Court of England and Wales).
Financial investigations in relation to:
- Allegations of traffic of influence and money laundering against a listed provider of services to public utilities.
- Allegations of tax fraud against a global retailer.
Mergers and acquisitions:
- Anthony has extensive experience of assisting organisations to divest or acquire businesses. His expertise ranges from buy-side and vendor due diligence to advice on price adjustments and warranty clauses.