Senior Associate, Structured Finance (Securitisation) in London

About Ashurst

Ashurst is a leading global law firm with a determination to go beyond the ordinary by outpacing change. We have a community of 4800+ people across over 30 offices globally and are a trusted adviser to top corporates, financial institutions and governments. What sets us apart is our ambition for our people and our clients.

Team overview

Ashurst's finance practice is recognised by its clients to be one of the most innovative and solution orientated legal practices in the city today. As the challenges to our clients have increased over the last few years we have stayed true to our core offering of legal technical excellence wrapped in commercial awareness. This has enabled Ashurst to continue to fulfil the role of being a trusted advisor to our clients and strengthened our close relationships.

Ashurst's growing speciality finance & securitisation practice forms part of a wider structured finance team, as well as specialists across the firm and in our international network. We are sector agnostic, advising borrowers, issuers, sponsors, asset managers, credit funds, insurers, arrangers and lenders in respect of asset-backed financing and capital driven structured solutions for a wide variety of asset classes, including:

• Consumer credit (eg personal loans, credit cards, point of sale)
• Autos (auto loans, lease receivables, hire purchase, PCP and residual values)
• Fintech
• SME lending
• Mortgages (bridging, BTL, development, second charge, HELOC and equity release)
• CRE and affordable housing
• Fund finance (including with bank partnership structures)

We work on both private and public transactions. We have particularly close client relationships and are seen as one of the go-to firms in the market, including experience with establishment of new securitisation platforms. Transactions in this area often call for creative thinking and our team works closely with Ashurst tax, financial regulatory, private equity and others in order to implement innovative and first of their kind asset-backed structures.

We are a very entrepreneurial team that has experienced significant growth and expansion of market presence. We have a very strong borrower / issuer side reputation coupled with go-to status for some of the biggest specialist private credit funds in the space and an equally strong reputation acting for arrangers, lenders and noteholders on market leading transactions.

Job overview

You will work primarily with partners in London who specialise in various types of structured finance transactions across different asset classes. You can expect to look at corporate lends, warehouses and private and public securitisations, and various forms of mezzanine transactions. You will be willing to be flexible and should be enthusiastic about working on new structures with partner and team support. The job offers exposure to multiple different clients, sectors, and associated financing techniques, and is an excellent platform for an entrepreneurial, ambitious private credit lawyer. Our clients demand a broad understanding of the financing landscape and our team's ability to look at diverse and innovative financing structures is key to its strength. In addition to strong technical skills, you should be able to demonstrate an enthusiasm for business development and strong interpersonal skills as there will be significant client contact, in both the work and business development context.

The role will offer the opportunity to work with sponsors, debt investors, speciality finance corporates, credit funds, banks and others. You would typically act on all elements of a financing from structuring and term sheet stage, through to closing and post-closing. Your specific areas of responsibility will be to draft and negotiate / responsibility for term sheets, security documents, intercreditor agreements, facilities agreements, and debt capital markets documentation on private and public deals, ensuring a smooth process to transaction close. We would also support you in any business development initiatives of your own, and any desire to build on these and develop your own client network with support and guidance from the partners and wider team.

The role will also involve working closely with other groups within Ashurst, including corporate, restructuring, banking, financial regulatory and tax. We are looking for someone with excellent technical ability coupled with a growth mindset and ability to apply learnings across transactions.

Essential skills and experience

• Experience of advising on structured finance transactions and securitisations preferred.
• 5PQE to 10PQE
• Proactive, and willing to own clients, workstreams and processes
• Experience of drafting complex documents
• Good organisational skills and experience in transaction management
• Adaptable and client friendly; excellent client relationship skills, and the ability to understand and respond effectively to client needs and experience of business development
• Confidence in conducting commercial negotiations with counterparties
• A collegiate team-player who works effectively with colleagues at all levels

Recent work

• The senior noteholders on a forward flow warehouse financing for a private credit fund on a bank partnership transaction.
• The arrangers and lead managers on a full capital stack EUR 800m public securitisation backed by a portfolio of unsecured consumer loan receivables structured to give capital relief under the SRT CRR regime.
• The arranger on a full capital stack £330m public securitisation backed by a portfolio of residential mortgages originated by a UK bank. The transaction was structured to achieve accounting derecognition.
• Permira - advising PSO on their facility to Viewture Limited, a leading content funder.
• Pollen Street Capital - advised the specialist fund on its multi-funding line structure to south coast specialist lender MSP Capital.
• Pollen Street Capital - advised the specialist asset manager in respect of its funding line with Knave, a French EV operator.
• Global Asset Manager - in respect of its structure investment into a UK litigation financier.
• UK Asset Manager - in respect of various mezzanine and structural mezzanine financings in across various sectors.
• MT Finance - advised across all funding lines, including their £500m securitisation with JP Morgan, their forward flows with PIMCO and Centrebridge, and their warehouse lines.
• Reward Funding - advised on a series of simultaneous transactions, including an inaugural securitisation with an investment bank, a warehouse with Quilam Capital, and corporate reorganisation and refinancings.
• Octopus Electric Vehicles on a £550 million debt securitisation facility from Lloyds Bank to fund electric vehicles, accelerating total EV funding to £1.2 billion. This was judged "private securitisation of the year" at the Global Capital European Securitisation Awards 2024.
• Perch Capital - advised the senior lenders on a senior/mezzanine structure in relation to the warehousing of debt purchase assets.
• Norton Finance - advised National Westminster Bank on its funding to the first and second mortgage lending provider.
• Roma Finance - advised on its inaugural forward flow arrangement with the Cambridge Building Society.
• SANTANDER UK PLC on the 2025-1, 2024-2, 2024-1, 2023-1 and 2022-1 144A and Reg S public residential mortgage securitisations under its Holmes securitisation programme as well as regular updates to the Holmes and Fosse mortgage master trust programmes.
• NatWest/Raylo - advised on the senior lender on their senior facilities and split collateral rights to the personal device finance.
• Waterfall Asset Management on the refinancing of a credit card portfolio privately placed securitisation.

Representative Clients

• Aldermore Bank
• Ares
• Apollo
• Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Barclays
• BNPP
• Castlelake
• Hampshire Trust Bank
• Her Majesty's Government, including Her Majesty's Treasury (acting through the Infrastructure and Projects Authority)
• Homes England
• HSBC Innovation Banking
• Lendable
• Lloyds
• MT Finance
• National Westminster Bank
• Octopus Electric Vehicles
• Paragon
• Permira
• Pollen Street Capital
• Propel
• Reward Finance
• Roma Finance
• Santander
• Shawbrook Bank
• Waterfall Asset Management

Career advancement

An established Associate Career Path Framework is in place clearly defining expectations and outlining opportunities for promotion.

Accessibility

We are committed to making all stages of our recruitment process accessible to candidates with disabilities or long-term health conditions. If you consider yourself to have a disability or a long-term health condition, please feel able to be open about this at any point during the recruitment process. If you are not sure what adjustments you require, we will work with you to establish the most suitable adjustments at each stage of the recruitment process. Please note that our online application form includes a section which allows you to advise us of any extenuating circumstances that are relevant for us to consider when reviewing your application form. Any information disclosed on your disability will remain strictly confidential and please if you have any questions.

Secondment opportunities

Opportunities often arise for associates to spend time on secondment in house with a key client of the firm. From time to time, secondment opportunities also come up within other Ashurst offices in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.

Background checks

In order to comply with regulatory and client requirements, Ashurst will undertake appropriate vetting of staff. When applicants accept a job offer, Ashurst, alongside a specialist provider, will undertake professional verification and background checks. These checks are only undertaken with consent, and in accordance with our legal and regulatory obligations.