Matthew Sapte > Dentons > London, England > Lawyer Profile

The derivatives practice at Dentons ‘punches above its weight‘, and clients note that ‘the team goes out of its way to really understand the business and operational mechanics behind transactions to really allow the contractual terms to match the commercial reality‘. The firm climbs the ranking this year due to the strength of its work for major banks, though it is also a key adviser to corporates and funds. Practice head Matthew Sapte is adept in all derivatives asset classes, including ESG-related instruments and Islamic finance. He recently acted for Absolute Collateral in establishing a conventional and Sharia-compliant repo trading platform. Standout partner Luke Whitmore is ‘a fantastic sounding board for new ideas and structures and has a real thirst for the new and innovative ideas‘. He has extensive experience in the prime brokerage and futures markets, and is a key adviser to leading investment banks on matters such as rates and foreign exchange swap transactions with private equity funds and other structured funds. His recent work also includes advising sell-side clients on the impact of Russian sanctions on derivative positions and the ability to terminate.

Dentons is ‘very well versed in DCM and has experts on every topic‘, though its emerging markets work extends beyond bond issuance and restructuring. The London team leverages the firm’s global office network to handle market-leading projects and financings in Africa, the Middle East, the CEE and CIS regions, as well as Latin America. Head of banking and finance Paul Holland leads the emerging markets group in London. He recently acted for HSBC Bank plc, co-ordinating local counsel in Finland and Brazil, in a secured $780m buyer credit facility for a major Brazilian paper and pulp producer. Debt capital markets partner Nick Hayday ‘instils confidence in clients, is a safe in his hands‘. He advised CPI Property Group on a €700m sustainability-linked bond offering. Debt capital markets specialists Cameron Half and David Cohen  also play key roles in the practice. Half is a key adviser to Hidroelectrica S.A. and assisted the client with its proposed €2bn IPO and listing on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Derivatives and structured debt partner Matthew Sapte and trade and export finance specialist Ian Clements are frequently involved in emerging markets transactions, and Dominic Spacie advises banks, institutional investors, development finance institutions, contractors, and government entities on international PPP, PFI and concession-based infrastructure-related projects. John Inglis, formerly of Shearman & Sterling LLP, joined as a consultant.