Shoosmiths LLP

Banking and Finance

Chris is a banking and finance partner specialising in real estate finance. Chris has more than a decade's experience in advising borrowers, financial institutions and sponsors on a wide range of national and cross-border debt financings, including syndicated and bilateral loans, across a wide range of industry sectors. Chris also has experience in acquisition and leveraged finance, as well as asset-based lending.

Chris' clients include a number of major UK clearing banks, as well as alternative lenders, debt funds, debt brokers and corporate borrowers.

Recent transactions include:

• • advising a large corporate borrower in regard to its lending of up to circa £100 million from a global asset management owned SPV in regard to the acquisition and development of an industrial platform located in London;
  • advising a major UK clearing bank in relation to is lending of circa £20 million to a corporate borrower for the purposes of re-financing existing borrowings in relation to a portfolio of properties across London;
  • advising an alternative lender in respect to their lending of mezzanine finance to an Abu Dhabi borrowing entity to, amongst other things, refinance the acquisition of a famous hotel in Edinburgh; and
  • advising a major UK clearing bank in relation to its lending of a £10 million development finance facility to a corporate borrower for the purposes of financing the development of a former garden centre in Hertfordshire.

Chris has previously been on secondment, both nationally and internationally, including with HSBC and Credit Agricole.

Before joining Shoosmiths, Chris has previously worked at CMS, Osborne Clarke and Hogan Lovells (both in London and Hong Kong).