Harmos Horton Lusk

What Harmos Horton Lusk does

Harmos Horton Lusk is a privately held specialist corporate law firm headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, operating from Level 33, Vero Centre, 48 Shortland Street. Founded circa 2002 and led by co-founder Andrew Harmos, the firm operates with a flat structure of approximately 12-15 fee-earning staff led by six directors (Andrew Harmos, Annie Steel, Nathanael Starrenburg, Emma Barnett, Tim Mitchelson, Matthew Wentz) plus Sarah Sinclair, two counsel (Paul Oldfield, Katie Carson), and several associates. Its practice covers seven integrated service lines: Takeovers/Public M&A, Private M&A, Private Equity Advisory, Equity Capital Markets, Corporate & Governance Advisory, Regulatory Advisory, and Banking/Finance & Financial Services. The firm advises NZX/ASX-listed companies, domestic and international private equity sponsors, family-owned businesses, and cross-border clients on New Zealand aspects of inbound and outbound transactions.

The firm operates a sales-led, engagement-based professional services model with senior lawyer involvement on all matters; fees are quoted per engagement using a mix of hourly rates, fixed fees for defined workstreams, and transaction-based or success fees, with multi-year retainer relationships on governance mandates. Marketing is primarily through legal directory rankings (Chambers Asia Pacific, Legal 500, IFLR1000), industry awards (INFINZ, NZ Law Awards), direct senior-lawyer referral networks, and thought-leadership content. The firm has held regulatory positions including Takeovers Panel membership, FMA Establishment Board, and NZX Board involvement, and its directors individually have pedigree at Clifford Chance London, Herbert Smith Freehills Singapore, Allen & Overy London, Freshfields London, Cravath Swaine & Moore New York, and Russell McVeagh.

Revenue is not publicly disclosed. Observed mandate scale includes NZ$1.86B Contact/Manawa takeover, NZ$1.63B Pushpay/BGH/Sixth Street acquisition, NZ$2.5B Vector Metering 50% JV with QIC, A$296M Lunit/Volpara scheme, NZ$630M Restaurant Brands full takeover response, and NZ$36.1M Pacific Edge equity raise. Customers span energy (TECT, Manawa, Vector), healthcare (Pacific Edge, Lunit, Momentum Clinical Research), technology (Pushpay, Volpara), consumer/retail (Restaurant Brands, AS Colour), financial services (Forsyth Barr), and infrastructure (Emirates Team New Zealand, Narellan/Latham). The firm has been consecutively recognized by Chambers Asia Pacific as the highest-ranked specialist corporate law firm in New Zealand.

Name

Harmos Horton Lusk

Legal name

Harmos Horton Lusk

Website

https://hhl.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Harmos Horton Lusk is a privately held Auckland-based specialist corporate law firm advising NZX/ASX-listed companies, private equity sponsors, family businesses and cross-border clients on takeovers, M&A, capital markets, private equity, corporate governance and regulatory matters in New Zealand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Advisory Services: Professional services fees for corporate law advice including M&A transactions, takeover advisory, capital markets transactions, corporate governance, regulatory advisory, and banking/finance matters. Work is billed on transaction basis with fee structures likely including fixed fees, hourly rates, and success fees for certain engagements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Harmos Horton Lusk is New Zealand's premier specialist corporate law firm providing legal advisory services on complex and high-value corporate transactions. The firm advises bidders, targets, boards, independent directors, and shareholders on takeovers, schemes of arrangement, private and public M&A, private equity transactions, equity capital raisings, corporate governance, regulatory matters, and banking and finance. Its practice is focused exclusively on corporate and commercial law at the high end of the New Zealand market.

Product overview

Harmos Horton Lusk is a specialist corporate law firm offering a unified suite of legal advisory services rather than a software product platform. Their service portfolio comprises seven core practice areas: Takeovers/Public M&A, Private M&A, Private Equity Advisory, Equity Capital Markets, Corporate and Governance Advisory, Regulatory Advisory, and Banking/Finance advisory. These services are provided as integrated legal counsel to corporate clients on complex transactions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Takeovers / Public Mergers and Acquisitions

Quantifiable outcome

• Recognised as highest ranked specialist corporate law firm in New Zealand by Chambers Asia Pacific
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Clifford ChanceminorOthers · 1 April 2026Emily Hunter rejoined Harmos Horton Lusk after working as a senior associate in the corporate transactions and advisory team at Clifford Chance in London. This represents a professional connection/experience rather than a formal partnership.
• Katie CarsonminorOthers · 11 November 2024Senior banking and finance lawyer appointment as counsel. Previously worked at top-tier full-service and boutique law firms and was formerly head of New Zealand banking and finance team for a global law firm.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Herbert Smith Freehills: Global Magic Circle firm with significant Asia-Pacific corporate capability and a New Zealand presence; competes with HHL on large cross-border transactions and is a prior employer of HHL director Matthew Wentz.
• King & Wood Mallesons: Global law firm with deep Australian and Asia-Pacific corporate capability that competes for large cross-border M&A and capital markets mandates touching NZ, often partnering with or against local firms including HHL.
• Allens: Leading Australian law firm with strong NZ cross-border M&A and capital markets practice, frequently acting on transactions involving New Zealand targets alongside or against specialist firms like HHL.
• DLA Piper: Global law firm with an active New Zealand corporate practice, advising on inbound and outbound M&A, private equity, and capital markets transactions that overlap with HHL's cross-border mandates.

Direct peers

• Bell Gully: Bell Gully is widely regarded as New Zealand's leading full-service law firm and the most direct competitor to Harmos Horton Lusk on large-cap M&A, takeovers, and equity capital markets mandates involving NZX/ASX-listed corporates.
• Anderson Lloyd: A prominent New Zealand full-service firm with active corporate, M&A, and capital markets practices that overlap with HHL on listed company advisory and PE sponsor engagements.
• Buddle Findlay: A leading New Zealand full-service law firm that competes directly with HHL on corporate transactions, public M&A, and regulatory advisory work for listed companies and PE sponsors.
• Russell McVeagh: A premier New Zealand corporate law firm and a key competitor on complex M&A, capital markets, and private equity transactions; notably the prior firm of co-founders Andrew Harmos and Greg Horton before they established HHL.
• Chapman Tripp: One of New Zealand's largest full-service law firms with a strong corporate/M&A practice, regularly competing with HHL on major NZX-listed transactions, takeovers, and capital raisings.
• MinterEllisonRuddWatts: New Zealand arm of the MinterEllison network with a strong corporate practice advising on M&A, capital markets, and regulatory matters; competes with HHL on mid-to-large cap NZ transactions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/harmos-horton-lusk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Harmos Horton Lusk