Head of asset
finance: Nicola Davies
No. of partners
(assistants): 6 (11)
Key lessor
clients: SMBC Leasing, Bank of America, Bank of
Ireland, Bank of London and the Middle East, Barclays, Five Arrows
Leasing Limited, Investec Bank, Lloyds TSB, Lombard North Central,
Royal Bank of Scotland
Key lease broker
clients: None
Key manufacturer
clients: Canadian Helicopter Corporation, Toshiba,
SBM Offshore NV
New clients gained in
2009: FB Heliservices Offshore NV, Bank of
America
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While there may have been a slowdown
in new asset finance deals coming through the UK offices of law
firms, the picture appears to be very different in Asia, in
particular Singapore.
“Japanese banks are still able to lend so
there is a lot of new business out there,” said Nicola Davies, head
of asset finance at Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP).
There is also, apparently, a shortage of
decent asset finance lawyers out there so no surprise when the firm
decided to dispatch to Singapore one of its aviation finance
partners, Tom Budgett, and two associates to boost the firm’s
aviation and shipping practices.
Ship and aviation aside, the asset finance
department, which is run by Davies, is also making inroads into the
rail finance sector. Last month it hired Russell Clifford, a
specialist in structured asset finance, particularly rolling stock
financing transactions, from magic circle firm Allen &
Overy.
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By GlobalDataDavies said she has also seen a fair amount of
portfolio acquisitions, at least in the middle-ticket sector.
Asset finance litigation and insolvency work
aside, which are handled by other departments outside Davies’
group, the department saw a 29 percent increase in new business for
the year up to 30 April 2009 (the end of its financial year).
Lombard continues to be an important client of
Davies’ department. It acted for its parent, Lombard North Central
Plc, in connection with the financing of a data centre for one of
the lessor’s UK customers. It also continues to do yacht and
corporate jet finance work for the lessor.
“We will perhaps do more work for them,”
Davies said.
It has advised a major UK-based lender on bus
and train deals, and acted on residual value guarantee schemes.
Its marine work is partly yacht related
(Willie Jamieson, a senior associate, does most of that work at the
firm) as well as FPSO and offshore rig work (for instance, it
advised Single Buoy Moorings in a $320 million financing of a
drilling facility to be located offshore in Halifax, Nova
Scotia).
On the aviation side, it has advised Boeing on
predelivery financings for a number of airlines, and also on asset
financing documentation.
A longstanding adviser to CHC Helicopter
Corporation, besides having advised on its acquisition by First
Reserve Corporation last year, it has also advised it on financing
agreements for such far flung jurisdictions as Nigeria, Brazil and
Malaysia. It is currently acting for Sky Europe in
administration.
While aviation, marine and middle
ticket/structured leasing work is roughly divided three ways, asset
finance litigation is largely handled by David Hughes and leasing
related insolvencies by Ben Larkin.
