Asset Finance
Commercial legal advice in all finance matters
Our finance practice covers the whole spectrum, from trade and asset finance, through to project finance. We are market leaders in the shipping, offshore, yacht and corporate jet sectors, and frequently handle assets relating to the transportation industry. With an international network of offices, we have the capability and expertise to handle all finance-related enquiries.
What we do in Asset Finance
Our Asset Finance group specialises in ship and offshore finance, aviation finance and project finance including ports and terminals, oil and gas, and logistics finance.
We have wide experience of working on transactions involving secured and unsecured bilateral, club and syndicated loans and guarantee facilities and regularly act for banks and other financial institutions (including export credit agencies, insurance companies and private equity houses), owners and other borrowers.
In addition to acting on straightforward debt deals, our experience and expertise also covers other areas such as mezzanine debt, leasing and structured finance, export credit finance structures, bond issues and other forms of capital raising, derivatives and other credit enhancement products, loan portfolio reviews and transfers, loan restructurings and work-outs and enforcement of security.
Our experience in Asset Finance
We provide below some examples of our work in Asset Finance:
- Advising on the acquisition and financing by lease or loan of over 50 corporate aircraft in separate transactions over the past 18 months.
- Represented a leading UAE finance company in relation to the lease financing of port operating assets and equipment under construction in Abu Dhabi, including drafting and negotiating financing documentation and ancillary agreements.
- Advised on the development and financing of the US$1.45bn 1,210MW coal-fired independent power project in Iskenderun (Turkey). This transaction involved an innovative coal supply structure with coal sourced from the world market, and a very complex coal transhipment structure.
- Acting for Aries Maritime Transport Limited on the restructuring of its US$240m debt with a syndicate of 10 banks, the sale of nearly 19m shares to Grandunion Inc. and the issue by Investment Bank of Greece of US$145m convertible notes.
- Advised a Middle East airline on its finance leases and the negotiation of its fleet acquisition from Airbus.
- Advising a leading French public bank on the security package to be taken in the context of a USD25,000,000 financing of the participation of Djibouti Telecom in the construction and use of the high capacity fibre-optic submarine cable system "Europe India Gateway".
