The Legal 500

Bell Gully’s ‘outstanding’ banking and finance practice was augmented by Rachel Paris' appointment to the partnership in January 2009. The practice acted on several high-value loan facilities in 2008, including a NZ$800m facility for Telecom New Zealand and a NZ$550m facility for Ravensdown Fertiliser. Other high-value instructions for the practice included Contact Energy’s NZ$550m bond offer and the NZ$265m restructuring of New Zealand Guardian Trust (NZGT) mortgage funds. The practice also had a successful year with regard to capital raising, acting for Fletcher Building Finance on the public capital notes offer raising NZ$131.3m. Brynn Gilbertson is ‘extremely effective’, while Murray King is described as ‘capable’.

Russell McVeagh’s ‘strong team’ acted for Credit Suisse in the $1.5bn acquisition of a bridge facility by the Reynold’s Group in February 2009. The firm also acted for a bank syndicate on the NZ$400 financing of Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holding’s acquisition of Vector Wellington’s electricity network in August 2008. In Auckland, the firm has eight partners working on financial and capital markets cases and four based in the Wellington office. Guy Lethbridge is ‘excellent’, and John Powell is ‘the leading lawyer’ in export credit agency-supported transactions.

Simpson Grierson’s banking and finance practice was involved in shaping and securing a handful of innovative financial transactions in 2008 and 2009. The practice obtained the first listed bond issuance by a local authority in New Zealand in March 2009 for Auckland City Council, a NZ$150m retail bond. Andrew Harkness leads the five-partner practice from the Auckland office.

Clients comment that Buddle Findlay has ‘good support and depth’. In 2008, the practice acted for the arrangers of unsecured subordinated fixed-rate bonds for Fonterra worth NZ$800m. Another highlight was advising Infratil on the refinancing of a NZ$140m redeemable preference share facility. The practice also acted in 2008 for the lenders to the developer of the new Telecom House in Wellington. Paul Farrugia and Peter Owles are considered ‘the best’ by clients.

Chapman Tripp acted for a syndicate of banks including Citigroup on a $156m project-financing transaction for telecommunications company Digicel. The practice also advised banks, including ASB, on the establishment of mortgage-backed repo facilities, which amounted to over NZ$9bn alone. John Strowger is ‘well regarded’ and Hamish Foote is also recommended by clients.

Perceived to be ‘somewhat on the rise’, Kensington Swan acted for BOS International in restructuring the financial covenants of a lending facility to Geneva Finance. The practice also advised Lloyds TSB in relation to restructuring a security package on a syndicated loan of $782m for Landis + Gyr. Other highlights include acting for Liberty Harbour on the arrangement of a NZ$30m convertible bond issued by Pike River Coal and acting for Dorchester Finance in the NZ$12.5m sale of the equipment rentals part of its loan book to Rent Plus.

Clients of Mayne Wetherell say that Dave Wetherell is ‘the best banking and finance lawyer in New Zealand’. A recent highlight for the practice was acting for BOS International and investors on the buy-out of Strategic Finance. Another key instruction was acting for the Bank of New Zealand, ANZ and Westpac concerning the provision of NZ$525m to PGG Wrightson Finance.

Minter Ellison Rudd Watts’s banking and finance practice offers a ‘very good service’ according to clients. The practice worked for the a host of banks regarding a finance facility for Fisher & Paykel Appliances Group in May 2009, which amounted to nearly $500m. The team acted for four companies in the acquisition of private equity finance facilities worth $40m for its client, Paper Holdings. The practice also advised Goldman Sachs JBWere in 2009. Tom Fail is singled out by clients for his ‘project finance’ experience. Paul Foley is also recommended for his ‘commercial acumen’.

With offices in Auckland and Christchurch, Anthony Harper acted for clients such as Westpac, ASB, HSBC, BNZ and ANZ in 2008 and 2009. The practice negotiated a multimillion-dollar subordinated loan on behalf of a finance company in 2009. Nigel Oliver and Crispin Vinnell are the ‘go-to’ lawyers for banking and insolvency matters.

Alan Stones is the lead partner in Dawson Harford & Partners’s banking and finance department. Recent instructions include advising ASB bank on a range of financial issues.