Head of asset
finance: James Watters
No. of partners
(assistants): 38 (78) (includes ship finance)
Key lessor
clients: Bank of New York, Bank of
Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Calyon, Citibank, DVB, Fortis, HBOS, HSH
Nordbank, ING Lease, Lloyds TSB, RBS, Société Générale, CIT
Group
Key lease broker
clients: N/A
Key manufacturer
clients: N/A
New clients gained in
2009: N/A
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The firm’s asset finance department, which
includes small and mid-sized transactional work, financing of
offshore assets, and some structured deals and aircraft leasing,
saw the amount it billed last year rise by an impressive 67
percent.
James Watters, who is known for his work in
small and mid-ticket asset finance, has advised on a few portfolio
sales this year, although he said the market has been
“disappointed” by the lack of buying and selling over recent
months.
A lot of new business has also come from
rescheduling of debts.
Partner Richard Goodman, meanwhile, over
recent months has advised Viridor Waste Management in connection
with a leasing facility from HSBC – and an interesting case
involving set-off. The client in this case, Pennon Group, the water
company, had various “obligations” to leasing subsidiaries of a UK
bank; the set-off in this case involved Pennon depositing funds at
the bank “at a competitive rate”.
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By GlobalDataSimon Kavanagh, another member of the asset
finance group (which is part of the firm’s project and structured
finance group run by Evan Stergoulis which also includes trade and
project finance), has advised Bank of Scotland on its five-year
revolving facility for Babcock & Brown Enexon Trading Ltd to
fund the purchase of solar power PV modules.
David Warder, another member of the group, has
advised Osaka Gas International Transport Inc on the leases of
three LNG hulls, among other work. Other notable partners in the
asset finance arm are Sandra Sinclair-Hughes and David Osborne.
The project finance arm of Stergoulis’ unit
has flourished over recent months, Watters said. Although most of
these deals are treated as project finance, Stergoulis himself has
been advising E.ON Climate & Renewables UK and Dong Energy on
an option agreement with the Crown Estate in respect of leases of
offshore windfarms with capacity of 630 megawatts and 370
megawatts.
Around 45 percent of the department’s work has
international dimensions, particularly with business centres in New
York, Singapore and Hamburg.
Much of the asset finance-related work is ship
finance. Contentious work is handled by the firm’s centralised
litigation department where the key partners handling asset finance
are Andrew Savage and James Penn.
