The social housing finance practice at Pinsent Masons LLP has experienced steady growth in 2022, taking on new clients and expanding the team; Tom McHugh was a ‘brilliant addition’, joining the firm from Addleshaw Goddard in January 2023. Sarah Whitty leads the full-service practice, with over 20 years’ experience advising lenders in the sector. The group specialises in assisting funders with loan financing, development finance, and private placements, as well as public bonds. Alexis Hayworth leads the debt capital markets side of the team and has a strong background in social housing bond finance. The firm sits on the Homes England panel, providing advice on national joint ventures, equity investment, and the provision of funding facilities. The team has made considerable headway regarding sustainability-linked lending, a growing area within the sector. Associate Sophie Al-Mahdawie assists the team on a wide range of social housing finance transactions in both the public and private spheres.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘The social housing finance team are a strong team with market-leading sector knowledge. It is able to advise on a broad range of social housing finance and the team is growing to ensure strength in depth.’
‘The team at Pinsents is good to work alongside and is open, transparent, and collaborative.'
Key clients
- NatWest Markets Plc
- The Royal Bank of Scotland plc
Work highlights
- Advised NatWest Markets Plc and Banco Santander, S.A. as joint bookrunners and M&G Trustee Company Limited as bond trustee and security trustee on a £250m debut public listed secured sustainability bond issued by Hexagon Housing Association Limited..
- Advising a syndicate of five lenders on the refinancing of £355m loan facilities made available to Aster Communities in conjunction with advising a UK investment bank, MUFG, a UK Clearing Bank as dealers, and M&G Trustee Company Limited as note trustee and security trustee on an update of Aster Group’s EMTN Programme.