Banking & Finance

Commercial. Pragmatic. Personal. That’s our advice in a nutshell.

We bring experience, insights and commercial expertise to all our banking and finance advice.

We advise and are panel lawyers for, amongst others, Metro Bank, Santander (UK), The Charity Bank, Triodos Bank UK, Handelsbanken, Unity Trust Bank and the Lloyds Bank in respect of its lending to the charity and not for profit sector.

In addition to advising banks and specialist lenders, we also support our corporate clients on secured and unsecured borrowing transactions.

But it isn’t simply the depth of our experience that sets us apart, it’s our personal approach. We build relationships and offer solutions.

How we help

We offer specialist support in structured and general corporate banking, social finance, acquisition finance, real estate finance and asset-based lending. We tailor our advice to each client’s needs – bringing in support from specialist teams across our firm to ensure you receive the best possible advice.

We advise borrowers and lenders across a wide range of sectors on syndicated and bilateral lending, invoice discounting arrangements, cross border structures, security and intercreditor issues.

As a long term member of the Loan Market Association we understand the leveraged finance market, the changes within it and the documentation which supports it.

We have a detailed understanding of the funding and structural needs of our charity and not-for-profit clients. We also advise the country's leading lenders to the charity and not-for-profit sector. Like our clients Charity Bank and Triodos, we’re a B Corp, so we understand what it means to be values-driven.

In addition to advising on lending and borrowing we also advise insolvency practitioners, banks, institutional investors, asset-based lenders, LPA receivers, corporate entities and company directors on insolvency law.

We also have outsourced arrangements with specialists who can provide regulatory advice for financial firms .

Bates Wells advises SigmaRoc plc on its £305 million syndicated debt facility

Patrick Keown, Head of Banking and Finance at Bates Wells advised AIM-quoted SigmaRoc plc on its £305 million syndicated debt facility in connection its acquisition of the Finnish limestone producer Nordkalk Oy AB for c.€470 million.

Bates Wells represents national charitable sporting trust in its refinancing

Bates Wells advised a leading sporting charitable trust in connection with various amendments to its banking facilities with a leading UK clearing bank. The transaction involved detailed advice and documentation around the switching mechanism to allow for the transition in Q3 2021 away from the current interest benchmark of LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) to the recommended interest benchmark of SONIA (Sterling Overnight Index Average).

Advising Sigmaroc plc on its £34m acquisition funding line with Santander plc

Advising The Charity Bank Limited and Unity Trust Bank plc on a number of bi lateral and club deals to the charity, care home and housing association sector

Advising Metro Bank plc on £10m and £6m rolling stock facilities

Advising Triodos Bank N.V. on a £24m development facility to the care-home sector

Advising Triodos Bank N.V. on a £30m funding line to the higher education sector