Areas of expertise
Recent work
David has a broad international practice advising on a wide range of financing transactions.
His practice encompasses:
- acquisition and leveraged finance: acting for borrowers, lenders and sponsors on public and private M&A, including advising on the UK Takeover Code ‘certain funds’ requirements and the related cash confirmation process
- banking and treasury: advising borrowers and lenders across both the investment grade and sub-investment grade space. Experience includes advising on sustainability-linked / ESG loans, and structures incorporating mezzanine / super-senior debt and high-yield bonds. David also has experience with real estate and asset-backed finance
- debt capital markets: advising issuers (including financial institutions) with respect to standalone bonds and EMTN programmes, regulatory capital and US private placements. David has also acted as English counsel on SEC-registered shelf programmes and NY-law governed high yield bond issuances
- structured finance and derivatives: experience of advising corporates and financial institutions on securitisations, synthetic securitisations, margin loans, total return swaps, equity forwards, deal contingent forwards and derivatives generally
- acquisitions, disposals and joint ventures: predominantly the financing aspects of M&A transactions, but also arrangements involving complex financial flows and the sale / purchase of financial assets such as loan portfolios and receivables
- insurance and pensions de-risking transactions: supporting his specialist partners, with a focus on collateral and credit support arrangements
- restructuring and insolvency: supporting his specialist partners in implementing restructurings, notably on the terms of any debt involved and the implications of credit default swaps
Clients have included:
- corporates such as Authentic Brands Group, Drax, Forty Two Point Two, HEMA, IAG, Interserve, Lonza, Marshalls, Ocado, OSIsoft, Shell, Telenor, Ultra Electronics, Vodafone, and Wessex Water
- sponsors / funds such as BlackRock, HPS Investment Partners, Värde Partners, and various private equity and private credit funds
- financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank, Just Group, Legal & General, M&G, Nordea, RSA, and Santander
- governmental bodies such as the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and UK Asset Resolution
He has a particular interest in cross-border matters, frequently advises clients in the US, the EU and Switzerland, and spent a year on secondment at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York as well as six months on secondment at Bredin Prat in Paris.