The Legal 500

Refinancing work took prominence for Allen & Overy’s banking and finance practice, including its advice to a group of banks led by HSBC on English and Spanish law aspects of Fertiberia’s long-term debt and working capital needs. Other highlights included advising Santander, BBVA, Banesto, La Caixa and Caja Madrid on the €180m financing of EQT Infrastructure’s acquisition of Acciona Aparcamientos. The practice’s partners are: Iñigo Gómez-Jordana, Ignacio Ruiz-Cámara, Charles Poole-Warren, and Salvador Ruiz Bachs. Juan Barona has agreed to join Linklaters.

Clifford Chance is ‘among the best and most reliable’ in this area, and has six partners including practice head Alberto Manzanares, the ‘personally and technically outstanding’ Carlos Hernández-Canut, and English law expert Stuart Percival. In 2011, the team advised a syndicate of Spanish and foreign banks including Citibank, Banco Santander and Société Générale on the €900m refinancing of Sacyr through the sale of Repsol shares. It also advised Citibank on the refinancing of Telefónica’s acquisition of O2.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is ‘a top-quality firm’ that focuses on high-value transactions and is renowned for its restructuring expertise. Recent instructions include advising BBVA and Caixabank on the €225m financing of Inoc’s acquisition of a 51% stake in Seguros Groupama de Seguros y Reaseguros, and the latter’s €40m debt refinancing. It also advised on Metrovacesa’s €5.5bn debt restructuring, which included an English scheme of arrangement Managing partner Iñaki Gabilondo heads the practice, and is recommended along with Ana López.

Linklaters has ‘some excellent lawyers’ and routinely attracts high-profile instructions. It has been advising PRISA and Telepizza on their respective restructurings, and advised FCC on simultaneous Spanish and English law facility agreements to refinance another €800m facility. The firm frequently acts for lenders, and advised a group of Spanish and international banks on a forward start facility for Cariátide, a subsidiary of ACS. Pedro De Rojas heads the department, and is recommended along with Ben Crosse. Juan Barona has agreed to join from Allen & Overy.

Uría Menéndez is ‘one of the most visible in this market’, and includes the well-respected Carlos de Cárdenas Smith, Sebastián Sáenz de Santa María, Jaime de San Román, and Angel Pérez López. It advised China Development Bank on its $375m financing of Telefónica’s acquisition of equipment from a Chinese supplier – the first time the bank had financed a Spanish company. Other highlights included advising Banco Santander on Grupo Sacyr Vallehermoso’s €5bn debt restructuring to facilitate its acquisition of a 20% stake in Repsol.

Ashurst LLP’s team has ‘excellent talent, knowledge and expertise’, and is ‘an ideal choice for sensitive regulatory and derivatives transactions’. Lead partner Gonzalo Jiménez-Blanco has ‘deep knowledge of administrative issues’; Juan Hormaechea ‘inspires confidence’; and Jose Christian Bertram is ‘highly proficient’, and gives ‘practical and thoughtful advice’. The firm advised GSO Blackstone on restructuring Cementos Portland Valderrivas’ €1.4bn debt. Other clients include Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira’s sizeable team is ‘a strong player’, which advised BBVA on facilities for Ferrovial, worth €1.8bn. Other clients include Banco Santander, Commerzbank and ING Real Estate. Héctor Bros’ ‘commercial approach, experience and business knowledge is invaluable’. Rafael Mínguez, Fernando Navarro and Eduardo Ramírez are also recommended.

DLA Piper LLP recently advised a syndicate of banks on the refinancing of hospitality chain Grupo NH. Other highlights included advising Caixabank, Bankia and Banco Sabadell on the financing of Avanza Group’s acquisition of a transport group. Practice head Jesús Zapata and César Herrero are ‘lawyers of very high quality’, with ‘excellent knowledge of the market’. Javier López-Antón is also highly recommended, and Alfredo Barona recently made partner.

Garrigues has been advising Abengoa on the financing of investments and on debt refinancing. It is also advising KBL on regulatory matters, such as MiFID compliance requirements, anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regulations, as well as ongoing reporting to the Bank of Spain. BBVA and Santander are other key clients. Rafael González-Gallarza and Luis de la Peña are the key names.

Gómez-Acebo & Pombo Abogados is ‘very good across the board, especially for project finance’. It recently advised a group of lenders including Bankia, Banco Popular and Caixabank on the €1bn-plus debt refinancing of Quabit Inmobiliaria, and also acted for securitisation fund Ahorro y Titulización on obtaining €1.5bn of mortgage loans from NCG Banco. Longstanding clients include Aareal Bank, Banesto and WestLB, and Banco Santander is a new client. Verónica Romaní is ‘experienced and knowledgeable’, and practice head Ángel Varela is also recommended.

Araoz & Rueda recently advised Vion Europa on acquiring an €800m loan portfolio from Banca Cívica. Other clients include Deutsche Bank, Kleinwort Benson, Goldman Sachs, BNP Paribas, IFC, and BBVA. Guillermo Yuste is the primary contact.

Baker & McKenzie acted for a leading technology company on a sale-of-receivables programme with Wells Fargo Bank International. It also advised Atos Medical on the financing of its acquisition by EQT IV. María Gracia Rubio heads the group.

Broseta Abogados acted for Banco CAM and Banco de Valencia following the Bank of Spain’s intervention to replace the management of both with representatives from the Fund for the Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB). It also advised a syndicate of banks, led by Bankia, on the €120m refinancing of Siliken. Antonio Navarro heads the practice, which recently recruited Manuel Mingot from Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira.

CMS is ‘one of the key references in the mid-cap restructuring market’, and is also strong in acquisition financing; it advised Unipapel on the financing of DS Smith’s acquisition of its office products wholesale business, Spicers. Practice head Abraham Nájera is ‘one of the most knowledgeable banking and finance lawyers around’.

Perez-Llorca advised Air Lease Corporation, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse on the Spanish aspects of a $1.5bn financing and leasing transaction for Airbus aircraft. Other instructions came from MSX International and Barclays. The four-partner team includes Fernando Quicios.

Ramón y Cajal Abogados’ practice is led by founding partner Francisco Bauzá. Banca Cívica is a key client; the firm advised it on a syndicated loan and individual voluntary arrangement to partially finance the development of a wastewater treatment plant in Burgos, and, separately, on the sale of non-performing loans to foreign investors.

SJ Berwin recently hired Joaquín Sales from Watson, Farley & Williams LLP to head the team, which also includes Carlos Pazos. The firm advised new client Hispasat Amazonas on a bridge loan of €80m for the construction and launch of a satellite, and construction of a second satellite.

Bird & Bird is advising Banco Santander UK on the refinancing of an urban development in Ibiza. Other clients include Lloyds TSB, Crédit Agricole, Yorkville Advisors, and Cunningham Lindsey. Andrés Lorrio is the lead partner.

DAC Beachcroft LLP is well known for its regulatory expertise, and also has excellent knowledge of real estate matters. The group’s largely German client base includes Deutsche Hypothekenbank and WestImmo. Manuel Rodríguez de Bethencourt is the key contact.

Deloitte has ‘good knowledge of market trends and regulations’. Director Gloria Hernández Aler gives ‘an excellent performance’, and ‘her advice is always prompt and reliable’. Key clients include Banco Santander, Barclays and Banco Popular.

GOLD Abogados (Gómez, Olmo & Da Veiga Abogados, S.L.P.) has ‘a good reputation for project finance’. Israel Gómez-Caro heads the team, which recently has been advising Banco Sabadell and Banco Pastor.

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP has been advising a group of rail and infrastructure companies on the Haramain high-speed rail project. Gonzalo Martín de Nicolás heads the practice.

Hogan Lovells International LLP recently hired José Luis Vázquez from Uría Menéndez to head the practice, which has attracted new clients including Noriega, Urende, Grupo de Empresas Sánchez-Ramade and Isofotón.

Jones Day’s chief strengths lie in project and acquisition finance. Highlights included acting for the lenders on the €40m financing of the acquisition of three wind farms. Luis Muñoz heads the team.