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- Work 020 7011 8700
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Work Department
Corporate & Finance
Position
Zoë Ashcroft is one of the founding partners of Winston & Strawn London, heads the corporate and finance team, and is a member of the global Executive Committee of Winston & Strawn LLP. Zoë has more than 25 years of experience handling complex cross-border deals for a broad range of corporate clients. Her experience covers a variety of sectors including oil and gas, manufacturing and industrial, consumer and luxury brands, and financial services.
Zoë works with both clients who are based in the United States, Continental Europe, Africa, Asia and elsewhere who are operating or investing in the United Kingdom or who select English law as the governing law for the transactions. A vibrant part of Zoë‘s practice involves advising clients on cross-border transactions in emerging markets (particularly Sub-Saharan Africa).
In addition, Zoë works with a number of pro-bono clients and for several years has served as a Trustee of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, an award winning UK not-for-profit organisation providing mentoring and internship opportunities, and of The Climate Change Organisation, an award-winning, international non-profit which focuses on bold, catalytic, and high-impact climate and energy initiatives with the world’s leading businesses and state and regional governments.
London: Finance
Bank lending: investment grade debt and syndicated loans
Within: Bank lending: investment grade debt and syndicated loans
Well hedged by virtue of its expertise handling deals in both developed and emerging markets, Winston & Strawn LLP has solid deal flow on behalf of traditional and development financing institutions, often involving syndicated lender structuring. Able to provide UK and US law advice on financing mandates, the team has expertise across the capital structure, including on senior, subordinated, secured and unsecured debt and hybrid structures. One of the founding partners of the London office, Zoë Ashcroft, has a particular niche advising on cross-border financings in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Emerging markets
Within: Emerging markets
Winston & Strawn LLP advises on transactional and contentious matters in emerging markets, particularly in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. London head of corporate and finance Zoë Ashcroft handled groundbreaking transactions in 2018, which included representing a Nigerian oil and gas exploration company as a joint venture partner in connection with a high-value reserves based lending facility. She continues to focus on emerging markets matters and concentrates principally on matters in Nigeria. Global co-chair of project finance James Simpson has a prominent role in power development and financing in the CEE and the former Soviet Union. He acted for Electrogas Malta in the Delimara 4 LNG-to-Power project. The firm hired Anthony Riley from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (Europe) LLP, who has expertise in finance in the energy and infrastructure sectors.
London: Projects, energy and natural resources
Oil and gas
Within: Oil and gas
Winston & Strawn LLP is especially strong in the corporate, financing and project development matters, and recently expanded its presence in the petrochemical space. The team has continued to be particularly active in the LNG field, where it acts for sponsors and other entities across the world. The practice is jointly led by James Simpson, who has extensive experience advising on international transactions in the oil and gas sector, and Zoë Ashcroft, who is noted for her expertise in transactions in emerging markets (particularly Sub-Saharan Africa). Jason Parker was recently promoted to the partnership.