Leasing and Asset Finance
Businesses looking to expand their equipment, machinery or vehicle fleet regularly turn to asset finance or leasing arrangements to achieve their commercial objectives. We have decades of experience helping our clients with the financing of:
- aircraft
- aircraft engines
- ships and FPSOs
- transportation equipment, such as shipping containers
- all types of industrial equipment and machinery
- fleets of commercial vehicles
We regularly act for lessees and manufacturers, as well as lessors and financiers.
We have a strong track record advising on:
- finance lease arrangements and lease financing structures, including Japanese lease structures, tax leases and sale and lease back arrangements
- mortgage loan financings
- pre-delivery financings
- restructuring and unwinds of complex financing structures
- the asset financing and leasing aspects of mergers and acquisitions of air carriers
Key experience
Advised British Airways on:
- Its US$1.7 billion long term multiple option facility used to finance aircraft, delivered over five years.
- the implementation and unwind of various leasing arrangements (including finance leases, tax leases and JOLCOs) for multiple aircraft, including fleets of Boeing 777s, Airbus 319s and Airbus 320s
Advising IAG, the world’s largest multinational airline holding company, on the complex asset finance and leasing aspects of its proposed €1bn acquisition of Air Europa. The transaction involved an analysis of the complex financing and ownership arrangements of Air Europa’s fleet of aircraft.
Advised on Orient Overseas Container Line on:
- the lease financing of a large number of container vessels, including “OOCL Hong Kong” (the largest container vessel in the world at the time of delivery).
- the lease financing of several portfolios of shipping containers.
Advised Rolls-Royce on the lease financing of portfolios of aircraft engines.
Advised the Department for Transport on the setting up of a freight capacity framework and the procurement of freight capacity thereunder as part of their Brexit no-deal contingency planning.
Advising AlixPartners (as prospective administrators to Thomas Cook), on the asset finance and leasing aspects of Thomas Cook’s restructuring, including in relation to complex negotiations with the government regarding repatriation of overseas customers.
Advised on Orient Overseas Container Line on:
- the lease financing of a large number of container vessels, including “OOCL Hong Kong” (the largest container vessel in the world at the time of delivery).
- the lease financing of several portfolios of shipping containers.
- the US$1.78bn disposal of the entities that operate the Long Beach Container Terminal business to Macquarie Infrastructure Partners. The sale was completed pursuant to a National Security Agreement
We act on complex and innovative asset finance and leasing structures, for clients based in the UK and internationally.
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss your requirement in this area and how we can draw on our extensive experience and expertise to assist with your transaction.
