Irwin Mitchell’s Birmingham banking and finance team has advised on more than 90 transactions valued at £1.2 billion in the 15 months since it launched.
Headed up by partner Jon Bew, the team has experienced considerable growth recently on its way to reaching its latest milestone. The transactions on which it has advised in the last quarter account for more that £500 million alone.
The department, which acts on a wide range of domestic and cross-border financing arrangements, provides advice on mainstream term and revolving loan facilities.
It also has a particular specialism in asset based lending, including trade, inventory and equipment finance as well as supplier finance.
Launched last year following the appointments of Mr Bew, Natalie Barnes, Nicola Raine and Leanne Galloway, the team regularly advises UK clearing banks and their subsidiaries, asset based lenders, independent specialist financiers and US and European lenders.
It is also working on an increasing number of borrower side transactions driven by the recent arrival of the corporate team of Nick Dawson and Rob Laugharne into the Birmingham office.
The team has advised on a significant number of sub-£5 million asset based lending arrangements, funding local businesses as well as a number of transactions involving global entities with £200 million plus facilities.
The team has also worked alongside a number of financial institutions to develop and bring to market new products, particularly in the supplier and vendor finance arena.
In addition the team advised ABN AMRO Commercial Finance on the multi-million pound funding of the acquisition by Shandong Yongtai and Shropshire-based TIA (GB) Treadsetters and working capital requirements of Coventry-based automotive supplier Covpress.
It also worked with Centric Commercial Finance on the transaction that saw Arlington Industries Group acquire Remploy Automotive from government ownership, and advised on new product development with Macquarie Bank on supplier and vendor finance programmes.
Mr Bew said: “To reach this deal value milestone highlights not only the strength of the team here in Birmingham but also the trend of recovery that we are all witnessing.
“We are proud to have represented lenders and borrowers on some bespoke, ground-breaking and very significant, but usually confidential, financial arrangements, many of which originate from working with local funders and the local business community in the Midlands.”
