Banks today face an ever increasing raft of challenges, both regulatory and commercial, as well as competition for deals from non-bank lenders and alternative funders. We provide our banking clients with a comprehensive service on- and off-transaction, including our plain English precedents for their business. We help our clients keep up with the changing landscape in order to remain competitive in the market place whilst delivering quality service to their own customers. Our clients focus on relationship banking and we work hard to support them in doing so. We also advise P2P lenders and invoice discounters on their lending and security arrangements, and their documentation.

Our capital markets team has substantial onshore as well as offshore capital markets experience, giving us in depth understanding of all aspects of capital markets structures and the commercial drivers that underpin transactions. We advise on the full range of equity and debt capital markets transactions, including initial public offerings, structured finance and securitisations, bond issuance, and TISE and CSX listings.

We advise on public offerings by holding or listing companies incorporated in Jersey, Guernsey and the Cayman Islands. Our clients include issuers, banks, NOMADs and other corporate finance advisers, and recent transactions have included listings on both the London Stock Exchange's Main Market and AIM, as well as other leading international exchanges. We cover the full scope of financing structures from IPOs to rights issues and secondary offerings, and equity bridge financing, to reverse takeovers and private placements.

We regularly act in relation to significant M&A activity in our jurisdictions, whether as lead counsel for strictly local matters or as part of an international team for multi-jurisdictional transactions. In addition to the negotiation of transaction documents we assist clients with disclosure and due diligence exercises as well as obtain competition authority clearances. Our focus is a practical one, looking to allow clients the certainty to conclude a deal in the knowledge that their risk has been identified and mitigated to the strongest extent possible.

Offshore vehicles are used for a huge range of purposes either standing alone or as part of large multi-jurisdictional structures. Our highly commercial team specialises in advising clients on the most effective uses of such vehicles and their on-going operation, including normal and cellular companies as well as foundations, unit trusts, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships. Our experienced team also provides commercial contracts for clients whether bespoke documents to effect specific transactions or suites of precedent documents for company service providers or offshore groups.

Fund financing is a specialist area that requires a strong understanding of the specific risks involved in lending to funds and the way such borrowers are structured. We know that the underlying relationships between investors, borrowers and lenders are key to the success of the industry. We work with lenders and borrowers to maintain these relationships at every stage of the process, with our commercial approach in managing transactions. As with any transactional matter we recognize the need to be efficient, accurate, responsive and pragmatic in dealings between parties. At the same time we take a firm line on risk and legal protection on behalf of our client.

We advise on structured bond issuance, securitisations, convertibles (including cash box structures) and hybrid deals that make use of offshore special purpose vehicles. Our partners and senior lawyers have significant experience and understanding of the nuances of such transactions and so are perfectly positioned to provide commercial, tailored advice. We also work closely with our Risk & Regulatory team to ensure our clients are kept up to date with regulatory developments that affect debt capital markets, including European Markets Infrastructure Regulation.

With a depth of multi-jurisdictional experience our offices in BVI, Cayman, Guernsey, Jersey, London and Singapore, we ensure that advice is provided in the context of other key global offshore centres and with a knowledge of the bigger, global picture. Our clients appreciate our pro-active attitude to providing sensible user-friendly advice, our accuracy and honesty in our approach to pricing matters, and our senior level involvement in all matters to ensure smooth progress and client satisfaction. In an increasingly complex, competitive and more tightly regulated market, we'll make sure your business or commercial venture reaches its full potential.

Good corporate governance and a sound understanding of directors duties is important to companies. Regardless of size, establishing a best practice approach should be fundamental to all boards. The board of directors are responsible for ensuring the company achieves its objectives and the corporate governance framework they adhere to should underpin their accountability to the company and its members. We advise company boards in relation to both the non-contentious and contentious aspects of shareholder relations with a focus on corporate governance to prevent contentious issues arising. We have also advised both boards and activist shareholders in relation to highly contentious general meetings and associated issues arising out of investor actions.

The demand for professional advisers who understand the needs of clients in the region has never been more important. With shariah-compliant products and Islamic finance becoming increasingly mainstream and integrated into the global financial system, it is important to partner with a team who understands the complexities of these structures, while also understanding how more traditional structures can be applied to meet the needs of Middle Eastern clients.