Sharon Kirkham > Devonshires Solicitors LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Devonshires Solicitors LLP
30 FINSBURY CIRCUS
LONDON
EC2M 7DT
England

Work Department

Securitisation

Position

Sharon is a partner and heads up the securitisation team of over 35 securitisation specialists. Sharon joined Devonshires in 1994 as a trainee legal executive and studied part-time, qualifying as a solicitor in October 1998 and winning the Law Society Prize for Outstanding Performance, becoming a partner in 2006. Sharon’s team acts for over 90 registered providers. Her experience includes the securitisation of residential street properties and developments under loan facilities of amounts varying from £1m to £450m on behalf of registered providers. Sharon’s notable transactions include acting for Circle in their merger with Affinity Sutton in 2016 to create Clarion, acting for Circle, Orbit, Great Places, Regenda, Wythenshawe and Your Housing on their large scale refinancing exercises, acting for Swan Housing and Riverside Housing in the switch from their syndicated facilities to bilateral facilities and acting for AmicusHorizon (now Optivo), BPHA, Bromford Housing Group, Circle (now Clarion), Great Places Housing Group, Hyde Group, London & Quadrant Housing Trust, Midland Heart, Moat Homes, Notting Hill Housing Trust, Radian Housing Group, Raglan Housing, Riverside Housing, Swan Housing and Yorkshire Housing (to name just a few) in the property charging on their bond issues/private placements. Clients state that ‘Sharon Kirkham’s commitment, understanding and support in securitisation work is second to none’. Sharon is seeking to achieve ‘stress-free securitisation’ in the sector by giving Security Training Seminars to RPs throughout the whole of England and Wales.

Career

Trained as legal executive Devonshires 1994; qualified as solicitor Devonshires 1998; partner Devonshires 2006.

Education

Dame Alice Owens School; London Guildhall University.

Leisure

Reading, horse riding.

Lawyer Rankings

London > Real estate > Social housing: finance

(Hall of Fame)

Sharon KirkhamDevonshires Solicitors LLP

Devonshires Solicitors LLP’s social housing team frequently acts for registered providers in a range of finance-related matters, including debt finance, bond issues, and ESG loans. The practice predominately acts for borrowers in transactional matters, although the team saw an increase of activity on the lender side in 2022, in addition to a growing number of for-profit housing associations in its client roster. Julian Barker is head of the banking and capital markets team, and is praised for his ‘exceptional knowledge and connections in the sector‘; Barker specialises in finance for both for-profit and not-for-profit registered providers. Sharon Kirkham is head of the securitisation team, and advises clients on the property aspects of securitisation. Alice Overton takes a leading role in the firm’s consumer credit matters, counting a large number of registered providers in her client roster. The group assists clients on a national basis, with Gary Grigor and Chris Drabble heading the Leeds office and advising on a number of the team’s key matters. The firm has also seen recent expansion, with a new office opened in Birmingham in March 2022, and Rachel Orgill-Harris, the ‘exceptional‘ Natalie Swales, and Carlos Fernandes all promoted to partner in April 2023.