Banking and Finance
Banking and finance law encompasses a range of legal areas.
From syndicated corporate facilities to highly specialised areas such as asset and project finance, real estate construction and investment, derivatives and restructuring, we offer customised and knowledgeable legal solutions aligned with your specific needs and goals.
How we can help
Our banking and finance lawyers act for both Australian and international clients across the full spectrum of finance law matters. We advise clients on issues including:
- real estate construction and investment finance.
- bilateral, syndicated and general corporate lending.
- project finance, in particular in relation to renewables.
- asset finance and equipment leasing.
- financial restructuring or insolvency proceedings.
- derivatives transactions.
- Personal Property Securities Act issues (PPSA).
We blend technical expertise with genuine commercial understanding to deliver a seamless experience, customised to your specific banking and finance law requirements, no matter how complex.
‘They know the business of their client well and are able to add value. Prompt response and diversified service team makes the team unique to be able to service the client from different industries or with different cultures.’
Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2024
Property and construction investment
Notwithstanding a prolonged, very difficult market, there remains ongoing interest from Australian and overseas investors in property and construction opportunities.
Our banking and finance law team, along with our colleagues in our investment funds and property teams, are known for their expertise in advising borrowers, lenders, funds and other participants on property and construction transactions, including a deep understanding of the non-bank lender market. Our market reputation stems from our ability to provide commercial advice that addresses legal, regulatory and business requirements and our ability to offer a multidisciplinary perspective on every matter.
Corporate and acquisition finance
Our banking and finance team has extensive experience advising lenders and borrowers in a wide range of corporate and acquisition finance matters. We apply our understanding of the legal and regulatory regimes to advise on debt and equity financing, and all types of loan facilities and related security structures. We advise across the whole lifecycle of a transaction and tap into broader expertise throughout the firm, including corporate and tax, to provide a multidisciplinary solution for all transactions.
Structured finance and leasing
Our banking and finance team provides commercial and pragmatic solutions for structured finance and leasing. We advise on lease finance transactions, including operating and finance lease structures; debt finance structures for assets, where the debt is syndicated or provided under a bilateral facility; Personal Property Securities Act (PPSA); and transactions involving a diverse range of assets, including ships, aircraft, rolling stock, mining assets and vehicles.
Banking and financial services disputes and security enforcement
Disputes in the banking and financial services sector regularly bring together a complex set of legal and commercial issues. Strategic advice sought at the outset can be invaluable when considering how to manage risk and the most effective way forward on any matter.
Our banking and finance law team is highly experienced in this area. We devise a specialised strategy for each dispute that takes into account the risks and rewards of any action.
Our security enforcement team combines expertise in banking, finance and insolvency to provide the full range of debt recovery and security enforcement services for lenders, creditors and insolvency practitioners, including banks, non-bank lenders, insurers and corporate clients.
We are able to draw on expertise in finance and banking law, financial regulation, insolvency and regulatory issues, as well as litigation, to bring together a team of experts to advise on all aspects of a dispute.
Our services include advising on debt recovery; providing security reviews and advising on prospects and procedural options for security enforcement; issuing enforcement proceedings in all jurisdictions, including all Victorian and NSW courts, the Federal Court and VCAT; enforcing judgments (including overseas judgments) and security; and advising on PPSA compliance and enforcement.
Project finance
Our team is experienced in complex project finance across a range of sectors, including water, and student accommodation but particularly in renewable energy and energy transition projects, advising clients across wind, solar, battery storage, pumped hydro and hybrid projects, along with energy technology companies.
We advise project sponsors and lenders, contractors, offtakers, landowners, utilities, pension and superannuation funds and government entities domestic, multi-jurisdictional and cross-border financing transactions. We also advise on associated intercreditor, restructuring, and pre-insolvency and debt-recovery transactions.
Agribusiness finance
Our agribusiness team advises both lenders and borrowers on most types of lending, including syndicated and bilateral loan facilities. Their expertise extends to advising on various types of traditional and non-traditional security, such as stock mortgages, crop liens and certain types of real property mortgages. The team also advises on various agribusiness investment vehicles, including the structuring, establishing and operating of listed, unlisted, retail and wholesale funds.
- Advising Aqualand Group, a leading Australian integrated property developer, in an A$600 million funding package, believed to be one of the largest property development property finance arrangements ever provided by a non-bank financier in Australia.
- Advising Spirit Super on the syndicated property portfolio financing in excess of A$500 million.
- Acting for a Singaporean-based mezzanine financier in a A$210 million property development finance transaction in Sydney.
- Acting for a property developer on a A$90 million facility with mezzanine debt provided under a s128F note structure from a Hong Kong financier.
- Acting for Dahua Group Australia on real estate construction projects in Melbourne and Sydney.
- Acting for various non-bank lenders in real estate acquisition and construction facilities across the Eastern seaboard.
- Advising an APRA regulated entity on the divestment of its interest in two foreign currency denominated syndicated loans to separate European infrastructure entities, each of which represented an interest of approximately A$45-55 million.
- Advising Netherlands-based NewCold on a syndicated facility with Goldman Sachs as MLA and NAB as agent and security trustee.
- Advising Trafigura on a A$100 million finance facility, with a loan note advance and environmental bond facility.
- Advising Intesa Sanpaolo on a A$24 million cross-border bilateral loan for an Australian borrower.
- Representing the non-executive directors of Banksia Securities Limited in relation to a class action filed on behalf of debenture holders, as well as an ASIC investigation and public examination hearings commenced by the receivers and managers.
- Successfully representing Bank of Cyprus Australia in Federal Court and then Supreme Court proceedings in significant recovery proceedings.
- Successfully representing a major bank in connection with the recovery of a business debt of more than $2 million secured by several residential and commercial properties in two states, joint and several guarantees and cross-guarantees and registered charges given by three associated entities.
- Acting for Bendigo and Adelaide Bank in defence of $2.4 million Supreme Court of Victoria proceedings commenced by McDonald’s Australia, involving contract breach and property/leasing issues.
- Acting for banks, including major Australian banks and non-bank lenders, in the recovery and enforcement of institutional, commercial and residential loans.
- Acting for liquidators in the recovery of multi-million-dollar debtor books.
- Advising a major energy company on the recovery of petroleum accounts and associated security enforcement.
- Acting on the recovery equipment finance debts.
- Acting for a number of major insurers on the recovery of workers’ compensation premiums and property damage recoveries.
- Advising a European renewable energy developer on the project development and financing of multiple wind farm projects in New South Wales and Victoria, including a first-of-its-kind deferred construction milestone payments and receivables purchase financing structure, backed by ECA credit insurance.
- Advising the successful bidding consortium on the acquisition of a major Australian energy business.
- Acting for a Commonwealth government grant provider on funding for the development of a solar gas hybrid project powering a mining project in Western Australia.
- Advising a syndicate of offshore banks on the project financing of an integrated wind farm and battery storage facility in Victoria.
- Advising a major renewable energy developer and asset manager on the acquisition and financing of a Queensland solar farm and separately on the project financing of a solar farm in Victoria.
- Advising German-owned CHG-Meridian on its acquisition of Maia Financial’s commercial leasing portfolio and the related securitisation in Australia and New Zealand of rent receivables.
- Advising NewCold Australia on the leveraged acquisition of the Karras Group, a transport and logistics group.
