Under the joint leadership of Ruth Marken and Oliver Ellington, CMS‘ practice is regularly instructed by clients across a broad range of matters, including corporate and leveraged finance work, and real estate, technology, and media financings.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- Ruth Marken (Partner) offers excellent, pragmatic advice and knows where the best support for our business resides across the CMS UK offices. This keeps fees keen and transparent. She shows a genuine interest in our business and our products. James (Jimmy) Dundas (Of Counsel) has supported a number of our recent refinancings and debt facility negotiations. He's very human, is fastidious on the detail, and is great at communicating timelines and deliverables.
- CMS Banking & Finance offers an excellent blend of core expertise, practical advice, pragmatism, and relationship focus. They show a good understanding of our business and tailor their advice accordingly. The team is responsive and can work to tight timelines if needed. Thoroughly recommended.
- The efforts of Ruth Marken, in particular, as the partner in charge of the transaction, were outstanding. She was excellent at explaining some of the areas that were new to us, and she marshaled her resources extremely adeptly, enabling the transaction to complete on time.
Key clients
- 3RE Capital Ventures
- Aermont Capital
- Allison Homes
- Cerberus Capital Management
- Garbe Industrial Real Estate UK
- HSBC UK Bank plc
- LBA Realty
- Newable
- Placefirst Limited
Work highlights
Advised Manchester based Placefirst Limited on its £200m development finance facility provided by ICG Real Estate to finance a portfolio of single-family build-to-rent assets across the UK.
Advised Newable on its new NAV facility with Hampshire Trust Bank (HTB), comprising a £35 million Senior Revolving Credit Facility.
Advised HSBC Manchester on its £135m loan to support the redevelopment of one of Edinburgh’s most iconic office developments, Port Hamilton, to be occupied by a major UK bank.
Lawyers
Firms to watch
Practice head
Ruth Marken; Oliver Ellington