Mr Martin Kavanagh > Herbert Smith Freehills LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP combines ‘excellent domain knowledge with commercial sensitivity and pragmatism’ to good effect for a borrower-side client base, on deals running the gamut from relatively commoditised working capital facilities and refinancing requirements through to more bespoke structured mandates involving often complex inter-creditor arrangements. Many of these clients are investment grade and listed on the FTSE 100/250, and appreciate the firm’s ‘detailed understanding of the latest market trends’, some of which is gleaned through the annual research report it conducts alongside the Association of Corporate Treasurers. Kristen Roberts is at the forefront of this research and remains at the vanguard of corporate debt trends, including as these relate to sustainability-linked loans. Gabrielle Wong is ‘incisive, practical and direct in her advice’ for corporates on US-law-governed debt products to facilitate M&A transactions, corporate lending and refinancings. Leveraging the firm’s broader energy and infrastructure sector prowess, the team is also very adept at handling work from emerging markets (particularly Africa) which often involves multi-sourced financings. In this context, Martin Kavanagh has strong connections with a number of leading development finance institutions, as does William Breeze, who is also noted for his work in the energy sector, including in the structured commodity trade finance space. Thomas Bethel is additionally key to the firm’s energy financing work and excels at advising lenders on reserve-based lending for upstream oil and gas transactions.

Advising on a growing stream of renewables and energy transition mandates, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP receives borrower and lender-side instructions on a litany of international projects that span both energy, mining and metals, digital infrastructure, social infrastructure, and transport builds. Lauded for his market knowledge and capabilities, practice co-chair Martin Kavanagh routinely advises lenders, developers and government bodies on complex greenfield PPPs, decarbonisation projects, and renewable builds. Fellow co-head Matthew Job has an impressive track record of advising on complex financing structures for both sponsors and lenders, from traditional bank-led project finance to government and multilateral backed structures. Helen Beatty is a key figure in the practice for PPP, project finance and debt finance expertise, with recent work highlights including large-scale mining and minerals projects. Noted for her deep regulatory knowledge, Silke Goldberg advises on a wide range of energy transition ventures, including battery storage and interconnectors. Tom Marshall is highlighted for his work with sponsors, developers, public authorities on development and commercial issues, while Dhananjaya Chak is highly active on greenfield project financings, maintaining close working relationships with multinational banks and investors.

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP ‘understands emerging markets in an impressive way‘, and ‘has a deep bench of local counsel and strong relationships in many jurisdictions, particularly in Africa‘. Global co-head of the Africa Group Martin Kavanagh also takes a lead on projects in many emerging markets. Kavanagh is currently assisting the Government of Malawi on a PPP model for a proposed 350MW hydropower project, on the Shire River. Also key are head of global M&A Gavin Davies, who has a particular focus on tech, telecoms, financial services and industrial sectors; UK head of both the arbitration and energy practices Craig Tevendale; global head of debt capital markets Amy Geddes; and head of the civil fraud practice Jeremy Garson. Emerging talent Dhananjaya Chak leads the India finance practice, which frequently handles infrastructure and energy projects.

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP notably works across key industries, such as mining, telecoms, agribusiness, oil and gas, as well as consumer goods. Paris-based co-head Bertrand Montembault is involved in the energy and natural resources sector and is knowledgeable of local and regional Tunisian regulatory frameworks, including OHADA law. London-based Craig Tevendale also leads the practice with Paul Morton, Martin Kavanagh, and Jean Meijer. The department is supported by projects and infrastructure specialist, Thomas Herman.