Mike Williams 

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.

With a depth of multi-jurisdictional experience, we ensure that advice is provided in the context of other key offshore centres and with a knowledge of the bigger global picture. Our clients appreciate our proactive attitude, sensible and user-friendly advice, accuracy and honesty in pricing matters, and our senior-level involvement in all matters. In an increasingly complex, competitive and regulated market, we'll make sure your business or venture reaches its full potential.

Good corporate governance and a sound understanding of directors duties is critical. 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.

We advise on structured bond issues, including covered bonds, convertible debt, private equity and intra-group debt finance and hybrid deals that make use of offshore special purpose debt vehicles. We also advise onshore issuers with listing Eurobonds and other debt instruments on The International Stock Exchange in Guernsey and the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange. Our partners and senior lawyers have significant experience and understanding of the nuances of such transactions, and are very well placed to provide practical, tailored advice.

We advise on all forms of public offerings by companies incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey and Jersey. Our clients include trading companies, SPACs, brokers, advisors and NOMADs, 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 transactions for listed companies, from IPOs to rights issues, secondary offerings, equity bridge financing, mergers and acquisitions, including schemes or arrangement and reverse takeovers, and de-listing.

Mergers and Acquisitions

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.

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.