Shoosmiths LLP

Banking & finance , Corporate restructuring & advisory , Real estate

Jon is a Partner and co-heads our Financial Services Sector working with a broad team of solicitors across all divisions of the firm.

Jon is an experienced finance lawyer specialising in acting for both borrowers and lenders on asset based lending transactions, both domestic and cross border. The majority of Jon’s clients are the funders, including the main high street banks that are active in asset based lending as well as a great many non-high street bank or independent funders (including Shawbrook, Arbuthnot Latham, Investec, Close Brothers and Hitchai Capital).

A typical transaction would include a combination of receivables finance alongside one or more of plant and machinery, inventory, property and/or cashflow facilities. The purpose of such facilities can range from a straightforward re-finance to a family cash out, PE investment, trade sale/purchase or a more distressed situation.

Recent examples of transactions include:

• acting for Shawbrook Bank in the $70,000,000 syndicated facility alongside Wells Fargo, providing funding to Project Piper to assist with working capital and growth plans;
• advised Close Brothers on the acquisition finance aspects of Trust Tech Inc's acquisition of GAP Personnel and assisted with the £20m funding facility;
• represented Shawbrook on an asset based lending package to Webster & Horsfall;
• advising Arbuthnot on a £5m asset based lending facility to Morris Angel & Son;
• advising ABN on a £16m receivables finance facility with Affinity Workforce;
• advising Arbuthnot on a £6.5m ABL facility being made available to the Fluorocarbon group.

In the directories, Jon is ranked as a tier 1 “Leading Individual – Hall of Fame” finance lawyer in the West Midlands by Legal 500 - one of only three lawyers with that ranking – and is regularly ranked in tier 1. The team was also ranked tier 1 nationally in asset based lending alongside Mayer Brown.

Jon joined Shoosmiths as a partner in November 2019 following six years as a partner at Irwin Mitchell and prior to that ten years as a partner at Squire Patton Boggs.