Commercial Finance and Lending

Overview

Businesses require capital: full stop. At Crowell & Moring U.K. LLP, we provide sophisticated, tailored legal advice on borrowing and lending terms and trends to help clients meet current market demands while setting the stage for immediate and long-term success. Among other accolades, our London team and several of our individual practitioners have been recommended by The Legal 500 UK in the area of asset-based lending.

We represent UK, US and other international banks, funds and other institutions in relation to the provision of bilateral and syndicated secured and unsecured credit facilities, both domestically and cross-border in multiple jurisdictions. Particular areas of expertise include asset-based lending (ABL) and other specialty finance and commercial finance transactions; securitisations and other receivables financings, and multi-tiered leveraged financings and the associated intercreditor arrangements. We also have material experience in representing creditors and debtors in restructurings of credit facilities and securitisation programs.

Our commercial clients include privately held and publicly traded enterprises ranging from small and medium-sized domestic enterprises (SMEs), to multinational publicly held and privately traded corporations. Our financial-institution clients include regional and global investment banks, money-centre banks, commercial finance companies, opportunity funds, hedge funds, investment groups, individual investors, alternative finance providers, and boutique commercial lending businesses.

A strong focus on cross-border, complex transactions

Our commercial finance & lending team has increased the breadth of its practice by utilising its expertise in leverage finance transactions. Our team has been instructed on an increasing number of super senior leveraged financing transactions by super senior lenders and has been involved in complex negotiations with magic circle and white-shoe law firms. Our team's expertise is also sought out by external US counsel who rely on the nous and knowledge of the team when seeking advice on English and Welsh law aspects of cross-border super senior leverage financing transactions.

Our transactional ABL practice stands apart from other firms because it is fully integrated with other practice areas, (such as fraud claims, banking litigation and restructuring and insolvency), all servicing the same asset-based lending clients.

Counsel across the spectrum of loan and credit facilities

We routinely advise clients on all aspects of ABL (including equipment, inventory, and receivables finance), factoring arrangements, company voluntary arrangements, acquisition finance, and intellectual property (IP) finance. We handle the negotiation, structuring, and documentation of sophisticated commercial loans and credit products, many of which involve multi-lender, syndicated secured credit facilities and are documented in the form of revolving loans, term loans, unitranche loans, first and second lien loans, and letter of credit facilities. Proceeds of these transactions are often used for working capital, asset acquisitions, dividend recapitalizations, or leveraged buyout acquisitions. Our lawyers also advise on syndications, secondary market transactions, distressed debt trading, financial book sales and restructurings.

Deep connections within the lending and finance communities

Our lawyers are active in legal and industry organizations in the UK and internationally. One of our partners is a member of the Legal and Technical Committee for the Asset Based Finance Association (now a part of UK Finance) and a member of the Policy Group of R3, the Association of Business Recovery Professionals. Members of our team also have extensive experience in the secondary trading of distressed loans under both the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) and Loan Market Association (LMA) trading regimes. One of our partners serves on the LMA’s Secondary Documentation Committee, which continually reviews and updates market-standard documentation in the European loan market.

We represent UK, US and other international banks, funds and other institutions in relation to the provision of bilateral and syndicated secured and unsecured credit facilities, both domestically and cross-border in multiple jurisdictions. Particular areas of expertise include asset-based lending (ABL) and other specialty finance and commercial finance transactions; securitisations and other receivables financings, and multi-tiered leveraged financings and the associated intercreditor arrangements. We also have material experience in representing creditors and debtors in restructurings of credit facilities and securitisation programs.

Our commercial clients include privately held and publicly traded enterprises ranging from small and medium-sized domestic enterprises (SMEs), to multinational publicly held and privately traded corporations. Our financial-institution clients include regional and global investment banks, money-centre banks, commercial finance companies, opportunity funds, hedge funds, investment groups, individual investors, alternative finance providers, and boutique commercial lending businesses.

A strong focus on cross-border, complex transactions

Our commercial finance & lending team has increased the breadth of its practice by utilising its expertise in leverage finance transactions. Our team has been instructed on an increasing number of super senior leveraged financing transactions by super senior lenders and has been involved in complex negotiations with magic circle and white-shoe law firms. Our team's expertise is also sought out by external US counsel who rely on the nous and knowledge of the team when seeking advice on English and Welsh law aspects of cross-border super senior leverage financing transactions.

Our transactional ABL practice stands apart from other firms because it is fully integrated with other practice areas, (such as fraud claims, banking litigation and restructuring and insolvency), all servicing the same asset-based lending clients.

Counsel across the spectrum of loan and credit facilities

We routinely advise clients on all aspects of ABL (including equipment, inventory, and receivables finance), factoring arrangements, company voluntary arrangements, acquisition finance, and intellectual property (IP) finance. We handle the negotiation, structuring, and documentation of sophisticated commercial loans and credit products, many of which involve multi-lender, syndicated secured credit facilities and are documented in the form of revolving loans, term loans, unitranche loans, first and second lien loans, and letter of credit facilities. Proceeds of these transactions are often used for working capital, asset acquisitions, dividend recapitalizations, or leveraged buyout acquisitions. Our lawyers also advise on syndications, secondary market transactions, distressed debt trading, financial book sales and restructurings.

Deep connections within the lending and finance communities

Our lawyers are active in legal and industry organizations in the UK and internationally. One of our partners is a member of the Legal and Technical Committee for the Asset Based Finance Association (now a part of UK Finance) and a member of the Policy Group of R3, the Association of Business Recovery Professionals. Members of our team also have extensive experience in the secondary trading of distressed loans under both the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) and Loan Market Association (LMA) trading regimes. One of our partners serves on the LMA’s Secondary Documentation Committee, which continually reviews and updates market-standard documentation in the European loan market.