Working in close cooperation with the firm’s real estate, construction, and property teams, the banking and finance offering at Muckle LLP spans the full range of banking, finance, and fundraising advice on both the borrowing and the lender side. Counting national banks, start-ups, and publicly listed companies, among its impressive roster of borrower-side clients, the team is described by clients as ‘extremely responsive with a practical approach to solving issues.’ Louise Duffy heads the team, and advises banks, corporate clients, and financial institutions on loan portfolios, fundraising, and sports finance matters. Zoe Ditch is adept at asset finance transactions, while Georgia Sproat advises on general banking and security arrangements. On the real estate finance side, Gail Bennett is the key name to note. Andrew Coddington left the team in August 2023.
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Great team. Great availability. Good concise advice. Very personable.’
‘Louise Duffy, Zoe Ditch and Georgia Sproat are excellent.’
‘The team is very approachable, extremely knowledgeable and very diligent. The Muckle team takes the time to understand legal requirements and provides practicable advice and solutions in a timely manner.'
'The Muckle team took the lead on the legal documentation setting out the responsibilities of all the parties involved. This provided clarity to us as the clients and smooth passage on the collation of the document bundle.’
‘Key attributes are an understanding of the sector and more specifically in our case an active interest in our brand. This establishes a clear sense of business partnering rather than a corporate transaction. As with most matters, they are ad-hoc and time-sensitive. We had excellent reaction time from sending our original request and a clear understanding of the steps.’
‘Extremely responsive with a practical approach to solving issues.’
‘Louise Duffy - works brilliantly with us and we see her as part of our extended team Georgia Sprout has taken on additional tasks for us this year and always works in a positive, efficient manner. All of the team are calm, friendly and professional in all dealings.’
Key clients
- Hampshire Trust Bank plc
- HSBC UK Bank plc
- Santander UK Bank plc
- NEL Fund Managers
- Weldfast (UK) Limited
- The English Sports Council/Sport England
- Wilton Engineering Services Limited
- National Westminster Bank plc
- ESJ DOR 1 Limited
- Esh Holdings Limited
Work highlights
Advised Hampshire Trust Bank in tandem with the property and construction teams on the provision of £21.1m in funding for development of two commercial units.
Advised Esh Holdings Limited (Esh) on their £6m refinance with Bibby Financial Services, liaising directly with Esh and a third-party debt advisory team acting for Esh.
Advised ESJ Dor 1 Limited (ESJ) on the £31.8m development facility for their on-going development of a 406-room student accommodation.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Zoe Ditch
Georgia Sproat
Practice head
Louise Duffy
Other key lawyers
Zoe Ditch; Georgia Sproat; Gail Bennett