Overview

James is a Director in our Banking and Finance team. Prior to joining Burges Salmon, James spent over ten years with Allen & Overy LLP.

James has extensive experience advising market participants on all aspects of securitisations and other asset backed finance transactions. His clients have included originators, sponsors, arrangers, lenders, asset managers, hedge funds and other private investors. Asset classes of which James has experience include residential and buy-to-let mortgages, auto loans, credit card receivables, commercial real estate (CRE) receivables, CLOs, trade receivables and supply chain finance receivables, regulated utilities and infrastructure and whole business securitisations.

James also advises borrowers and lenders on general corporate and leveraged finance facilities.

Experience

Experience gained at previous firms includes:

  • Advising SunPower as sponsor on the first publicly rated and listed solar energy project bond. This innovative and market leading transaction received a number of industry awards, including Structured Finance Deal of the Year 2011 from the IFLR Europe and European Project Bond Deal of the Year 2010 by Project Finance Magazine/Euromoney.
  • Advising the ENRA Group on the establishment of their first mortgage backed warehouse loan facility and subsequently advising the NatWest Markets as Arranger on the ENRA Group’s inaugural and subsequent public mortgage backed securitisation transactions.
  • Advising Varadero Capital L.P. on their £400m forward flow SME lending platform arrangement with Funding Circle. 
  • Advising Morgan Stanley on key UK and European CRE and CMBS transactions.  
  • Advising Royal Bank of Scotland as Arranger in relation to the establishment of the Manchester Airport Group secured bond issuance platform, sitting within the group’s wider bank/bond intercreditor and common terms financing framework.
  • Advising a bank lender on the financing of a diverse portfolio of non-performing Irish mortgage loans acquired by a leading global hedge fund and subsequently advising the bank as Arranger of the subsequent public securitisation. 
  • Advising Oodle Financial Services on their auto-loan receivables finance arrangements, including private warehouse facilities and subsequent public securitisations.
  • Advising Barclays Bank PLC as Arranger on the refinancing via securitisation of a portfolio of reperforming UK mortgage loans acquired by a leading international hedge fund and bond investor.
  • Advising the Arrangers and Joint Lead Managers on a high yield bond offering under the CenterParcs whole business securitisation financing programme.
  • Advising Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) on the acquisition and financing of a portfolio of performing and reperforming buy-to-let mortgage loans from Permanent TSB.
  • Advising a leading global investment management firm on a receivables backed supply chain finance facility. 
  • Advising a bank lender on the financing of a private CLO warehouse facility provided to a leading international specialist credit investor.
  • Advising HM Treasury as the lead financial services lawyer on the UK government’s negotiation of the Securitisation Regulation, including liaising with key governmental, EU and industry stakeholders.