Shoosmiths LLP

Jon Bew

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.

David Adams

Partner David is an experienced banking lawyer and advises some of the UK’s largest financial institutions in real estate finance, acquisition and leveraged finance (both sponsor and non-sponsor), pensions-related finance, restructuring, refinancing and asset-based lending. He has exceptional technical expertise in this area of the law, which is underpinned by a superb track record in business development. Recent examples of David’s work include: acting for a major high street bank in relation to a high profile business and property acquisition of a national fuel supply business; acting for a Midlands University in relation to two major funding projects, with funding for both development work and general corporate purposes being provided by two high street banks; acting for a Midlands based automotive parts and processes supplier in relation to the multi-jurisdictional asset based funding of a UK/Chinese joint venture; and acting for an overseas owned but Midlands based eye wear manufacturer and distributor in relation to their ongoing funding requirements.  

Natalie Barnes

Natalie is an experienced finance lawyer specialising in acting for both borrowers and lenders on asset based lending transactions, both domestic and cross border. Natalie typically acts for financial institutions and corporates on asset finance transactions including receivables finance, plant & machinery loans, inventory loans, property loans and cashflow facilities. Recent examples of work include: acting for HSBC Bank Plc and HSBC Invoice Finance (UK) Limited in connection with a full asset based lending facility and term loan to support the management buyout of Parweld (manufacturer and wholesaler of welding equipment) and provide ongoing working capital; acting for IGF Business Credit Limited in connection with a £3.9m invoice discounting and plant & machinery package to support Thames Card Limited (developer, manufacturer and distributor of payment, gift, loyalty and commercial cards); acting for Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending Limited in connection with a £10.7m all asset finance package to support Anglian Windows (one of the UK’s leading end-to-end retailers, manufacturers and installers of home improvement products); acting for Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending Limited in connection with a flexible £8m receivables finance facility to support the refinancing of MAN Commercial Protection Limited (a national high-end security services provider). Natalie joined Shoosmiths as a partner in 2019 following six years at Irwin Mitchell and prior to that six years at Squire Patton Boggs.