Whether you are a borrower or a lender, we enable smoother finance transactions. For over fifty years, hundreds of financial institutions and companies have relied on us each year to structure, document and deliver their global funding needs of corporates. For example:

• We help deliver both straightforward and bespoke lending structures that combine bank debt, bonds and private placements and other solutions to make transactions viable.
• We routinely advise borrowers and lenders on evolving ESG requirements, the consequent availability of funding and structures to incentivise corporates.
• We guide our clients on the myriad of factors and risks that can influence funding, from national security considerations through to sanctions and defined pension schemes.
• We promise our clients excellent service, the least possible friction and a single-minded focus: helping companies fund the next stage of their journey and allowing lenders to support that.

Our core team comprises over 40 lawyers who specialise in real estate finance and have in-depth knowledge of the market and the full spectrum of debt financing techniques.

We act for a variety of key participants in the UK, European and Middle Eastern property finance markets including leading UK, European and US banks (clearing and investment), international debt and equity funds, insurance companies, sponsors, developers and overseas investors.

We have a deep understanding of the industry and the people working in it combining years of experience and industry knowledge with a pragmatic approach focused on the successful delivery of our clients’ goals.

The AG Structured Finance Team provide strength in depth across the full spectrum of structured finance transactions, advising all market participants, including financial institutions, challenger banks, alternative and specialist lenders, corporates, fintechs, investment managers and funds, in all capacities, including as lenders, arrangers, originators, borrowers, servicers, collateral managers, issuers and investors.

Our structured finance expertise also encompasses derivatives.  We advise on a broad spectrum of developed and emerging market transactions in securitised and OTC formats, including swaps, repos, securities lending, ETDs and other financial products across all major derivatives asset classes.  We are experts across a range of industry standard documentation including GMRA, GMSLA, ISDA, FIA, prime brokerage and bespoke derivatives arrangements.  Recently the practice has focussed on the impact of Brexit and post-crisis financial reforms, including innovative solutions to OTC risk mitigation and benchmark reforms, the new resolution regime and regulatory capital netting frameworks.

We act for borrowers and lenders on asset-based lending (ABL), trade finance, supply chain finance transactions and other alternative lending arrangements.

We can help you in any type of ABL transaction, including syndicated and bilateral and ranging from simple invoice discounting arrangements, to structuring full ABL borrowing base transactions, no matter the jurisdiction(s).

As well as advising on transactions across a range of business sectors, our team handles issues such as:

• Drafting precedent documentation suites for lenders
• Portfolio acquisition and management
• Cross-border transactions
• Developing regulatory-driven, sector-specific financing solutions
• Regular input on ABL structures provided on an off-balance-sheet basis, as well as back-to-back receivables structures, block discounting and revolving collateral borrowing base facilities and Shari’a-compliant structures

We handle a range of domestic and international matters for many types of clients. The work ranges from complex structured transactions to regulatory and compliance advice, and covers a wide spread of asset categories and ticket sizes, including:

• Passenger and freight rolling stock and other railway assets
• Marine vessels
• Commercial vehicles and yellow goods
• Energy generation plant
• Industrial plant and machinery
• Telecommunications equipment
• Medical equipment
• Computer hardware and software
• Fixtures

We act for lenders and borrowers on funds finance facilities for funds across a range of sectors including private equity, credit, infrastructure, renewables, energy, real estate and secondaries funds. 

Our regular work includes funds finance products from subscription or capital call to hybrid and NAV, umbrella, manager and co-invest facilities and preferred equity solutions.

The team advises on facilities to a large range of fund structures around the world, whether they are based in the UK, key continental European jurisdictions, the US, Asia, Africa or major offshore jurisdictions. We work closely with the firm's Investment Management group and Funds & Indirect Real Estate team, as well as experts in the relevant sectors. The team also acts for a growing number of the most active lenders in the European market, as well as for large, international, alternative asset managers.

We have significant experience across a range of financing transactions throughout the mid-market for both lender and private equity sponsor clients.

Our team advises the firm's clients on senior debt facilities, second lien, mezzanine, unitranche facilities, first out/last out and super senior facilities and we are also specialised in dealing with transactions where asset-based lending facilities are used in leveraged structures.

All the major banks operating in Sterling markets and major pension funds across the UK and North America in their capacity as arrangers/bookrunners and investors and trustees and issuers (both established and debut) from around the world, have relied on our expert lawyers to deliver hundreds of major Debt Capital Market transactions in recent years, with a cumulative debt value of many billions across different currencies. 

They have sought and received our advice on secured and unsecured debt; structured and plain vanilla issues; and initial issuance, liability management and ongoing obligations. Clients have chosen us to support them across all sectors, but we have a particular specialism in public and quasi-public issuers, including providers of social housing, NHS Foundation Trusts, and local authorities, financial institutions, consumer and retail, and projects and infrastructure.

For over 30 years, our business has focussed on financing many of the most innovative, impactful, and pioneering social finance transactions in the United Kingdom.

Borne out of our market leading social housing finance practice, where we have been recognised by both Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners as the leading legal advisor to funders throughout the United Kingdom on social housing finance transactions every year since 2006, our practice has widened in recent years to encompass:

• Social finance debt transactions
• Sustainability-linked lending (primarily for lenders, but also for some corporate borrower clients)
• Green finance
• Debt capital markets transactions in the social finance space

Across all our experts, we're incredibly passionate about the hugely positive social impact of the work which we undertake alongside our clients. Social, Sustainable and Green Finance isn't new to us – it's part of our DNA.