Back to rankings
England - London • Finance
3

Securitisation

McDermott Will & Schulte logo

McDermott Will & Schulte

More information
McDermott Will & Schulte is ‘rapidly making its mark in the European market’, advising on ’innovative transactions’. Its work on the securitisation of esoteric assets such as insurance-linked securities, life settlements, loans secured by fine works of art complements its growing presence in the busy CLO market, building on the firm’s strong US CLO practice. Stuart Axford, who has in-depth knowledge of ABS involving assets such as residential and commercial mortgages, auto loans, aircraft, sports loans, supply chain finance, cryptocurrencies and NFTs, and CLO expert Martin Sharkey, who is ‘accessible, has good product knowledge and is very user-friendly’, lead the group. Polly O’Brien’s broad specialty finance practice also encompasses securitisation, derivatives and structured products.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘I think Martin Sharkey continues to lead the team well. He is accessible, has good product knowledge and is very user-friendly.’

  • ‘The team is personable and keeps us apprised of regulatory developments in the securitisation space.’

  • ‘The firm's securitisation practice in London has been rapidly making its mark in the European market through its involvement in innovative transactions. Its activities have been reinforcing the firm's already strong areas of transactional expertise.’

  • ‘The firm's securitisation practice in London is led by one of the market's most experienced and innovative practitioners, Stuart Axford, who brings decades of track record working with some of the leading investment banks to the firm's buy-side and sell-side clients. Stuart's deep understanding of technical structures, commercial matters, and regulatory frameworks allows the firm to rapidly determine the salient points of any structured finance transaction to focus on efficiently working through both esoteric and established projects.’

  • ‘The McDermott Will & Schulte CLO practice provides a great service, especially for CLO managers, and is always available with detailed responses and helpful advice.’

  • ‘Martin Sharkey is an exceptional CLO lawyer, with great attention to detail and market knowledge.’

Key clients

  • Barings (U.K.) Limited
  • GoldenTree Asset Management LP

Work highlights

Advised Barings (U.K.) Limited as CLO manager on Barings’s Euro 2024-1 CLO, valued at €400 million, which was arranged by BNPP.
Represented GoldenTree Loan Management and GLM III, LP as CLO manager on the client’s GLME 8 CLO, valued at €400 million, which was arranged by Barclays, with Morgan Stanley as a co-initial purchaser and Wells Fargo as a placement agent.
Represented GoldenTree Loan Management and GLM III, LP as CLO manager on the client’s first CLO refinancing of 2024, GLME 6 CLO, valued at €440 million.

Practice head

Stuart Axford; Martin Sharkey

Other key lawyers

Polly O’Brien