Instructed by a balanced roster of lenders and borrowers on deals which traverse both capital structure and geographies, Allen & Overy LLP has 'superb visibility in the market'. With some 31 partners focused on transactional banking work in London, the firm has the critical mass to handle a tremendous volume and variety of deals, and is as comfortable handling sponsor-led leveraged finance mandates as it is advising on corporate-led event-driven acquisitions. Recent highlights include Jonathan Brownson's and Matt Moore's work (alongside a team of high yield experts) for the lead arrangers on the bank and bond financing in support of the bid for TDC, a publicly listed Danish telecommunications company, by a consortium of investors led by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets. On the borrower side, Robin Harvey has an excellent reputation among private equity sponsors and he recently advised PAI Partners on the debt financing aspects of the leveraged buyout from First Reserve of M Group Services. Co-head of the firm's global banking practice, the 'excellent' Philip Bowden, has very strong ties with core lender clients and he regularly represents on financing packages to facilitate both leveraged and investment grade acquisition financing. The 'very capable' Denise Gibson is noted for her work on behalf of traditional banks, as well as credit funds/alternative lenders.

Benefiting from strong ties with banks, private equity sponsors and corporates, Clifford Chance LLP has an excellent perspective from both the lender and borrower side across the spectrum of the capital structure. With huge resources in London, and also able to call upon the expertise of a vast reservoir of talent across the firm's international network of offices, the team excels in advising on big-ticket cross-border mandates. Recent highlights include Taner Hassan's representation of Weener Plastics, a 3i portfolio company, on the €335m Term Loan B and €75m revolving credit facilities provided to refinance debt and support its acquisition of Latin American packaging provider Proenfar. Michael Bates' infrastructure-related leveraged finance expertise was recently exemplified by his work for Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets on the financing (one of the largest Term Loan B financings since the financial crisis) of the take-private of Danish telecoms operator TDC. The 'technically strong' Emma Folds is 'focused on representing lenders' and is a key member of the team that also includes the 'superb' Charles Cochrane.

Benefiting from an 'unparalleled depth of knowledge of market practice', gleaned through a huge volume and variety of mandates for its exclusively private equity sponsor client base, Kirkland & Ellis International LLP's 19-partner team 'know where to push on terms and has such a fierce reputation that most banks don't tend to pick fights with them'. 'At the cutting edge of market terms', the team is able to handle sophisticated deals across the spectrum of financial products including senior, unitranche, Term Loan B  and high yield debt financing. Team head Stephen Lucas is 'exceptional in all respects' and regularly 'works very well with the superb' Kirsteen Nicol  on mandates for Partners Group, which they both recently advised as part of an investment consortium on the Term Loan B and bond financing to facilitate the acquisition of Techem. Regarded by many as the 'best banking lawyer in Europe on the sponsor side', Neel Sachdev 'brings incredibly unique and extremely high-value added judgement' to deals for many of the most active private equity firms in the market. He recently advised BC Partners on the financing of its £700m acquisition of VetPartners from Ares Management and August Equity. Christopher Shield has a 'high degree of technical expertise' which he deploys to good effect for numerous key private equity sponsor clients of the firm, including Advent International. 'Fully versed and experienced across the financing spectrum', Michael Steele is also a key member of the team and regularly acts for Blackstone in Europe.

Benefiting from an equally strong offering on the high yield and bank debt front, Latham & Watkins is a perennial presence in the market on many of the largest and most sophisticated mandates for lenders and borrowers. Able to mobilise extensive resources from across the firm’s international network, as well as being particularly adept at structuring deals utilising highly bespoke private finance solutions (including the implementation of PIK loans, US Term Loan B’s, private high yield notes and other hybrid investments), the team is noted for its ‘high levels of creativity’. The ‘very experienced’ Stephen Kensell and the ‘superb’ Mohamed Nurmohamed have an excellent reputation among many leading investment banks, with Nurmohamed recently working alongside colleagues from the US on behalf of JP Morgan, on the term loan facilities in connection with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company's acquisition of Shire Plc. On the private equity front, team head Sam Hamilton continues to handle a plethora of financings for Nordic Capital, while the ‘excellent’ Dominic Newcomb regularly handles work for large US private equity sponsors. Ross Anderson is also recommended and ‘really gets the negotiating dynamic’ on behalf of a plethora of major banking clients on cross-border acquisition finance mandates.

With 31 banking partners based in London – many of whom have a significant focus on acquisition finance matters – as well as being able to leverage the firm’s broad-ranging international footprint, Linklaters LLP has the critical mass and geographical diversity to handle a significant volume of mandates for a balanced array of banks, private equity sponsors, credit funds and corporates. ‘At the vanguard of market evolution’, the team is trusted by market participants to advise on the largest leveraged loans in Europe implementing covenant-lite terms, and has also been active on a spate of deals which have tapped into the European Term Loan B market. As well as work for private equity sponsors, the team regularly advises corporates on the financings to facilitate M&A transactions, including for Takeda Pharmaceutical Company on its acquisition bridge facility in connection with the acquisition of Shire Plc. The 'very strong' Adam Freeman heads up the leveraged finance sub-group and is a key member of the team that also includes Nick Syson and Annette Kurdian, who both regularly advise large investment banks on big-ticket cross-border leveraged deals, and in the case of Kurdian has successfully built up a significant roster of alternative credit providers.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges (London) LLP has expertise across the capital structure and across financial products (including Term Loan B, New York-law governed high yield and unitranche) for an eclectic mix of banks, alternative capital providers and private equity sponsors. The team is at the vanguard of developments in financing terms and documentation, and is appreciated by its sponsor clients for its 'strength in pushing for new technology in the documentation'. Tom Richards is cultivating a strong reputation in the leveraged finance space for major sponsor clients, including Advent International, which he recently advised on the $1bn first and second lien facilities to finance its $1.65bn take-private acquisition of Laird Plc. Notably, this mandate was Advent's first take-private and the first ever all US-dollar denominated financing documented under English law and sold into the US. The 'first-rate' Chris McLaughlin handles a significant volume of work for private equity sponsors and direct lenders, and is a key member of the team that also includes bank-side lawyer Reena Gogna. Former team head Mark Donald departed at the end of 2018.

Benefiting from a 'deep knowledge base and a broad selection of deal and product experience among the partners', Ashurst is well-positioned to pick up a significant volume of deals for its primarily creditor-side client base. Although the firm is less visible in the jumbo cross-border mandates which typically involve a credible high yield offering, it is extremely prominent in mid-market mandates for its traditional roster of banking clients, in addition to credit funds including Hayfin and ICG. The 'very approachable and talented' Helen Burton has excellent visibility among both banking clients and credit funds, and has been at the forefront of the market advising on deals implementing the unitranche product. 'Never afraid to get his hands dirty and do the hard work', Nigel Ward handles conventional leveraged finance transactions as well as infrastructure-related acquisition finance matters.

Recently strengthened by a number of high-quality hires in the capital markets space, including Sarbajeet Nag  , who joined as a partner from Allen & Overy LLP  in summer 2019 , Milbank is able to provide a compelling high yield and bank finance offering to investment banks and credit funds. According to clients it is 'increasingly taking market share' from competitors. Led by the 'technically very strong' Suhrud Mehta, the team 'has a well-rounded knowledge of the leveraged finance market' and excels at handling big-ticket cross-border deals where the firm is seamlessly able to mobilise bank and bond expertise out of London, as well as being able to tap into the expertise of a strong finance presence in the US. 'Excellent at acting for clients utilising non-commoditised and bespoke parts of the capital structure', the team recently advised the lead arrangers on a complex Term Loan B financing (containing a combination of more traditional loan-style maintenance covenants and high yield style incurrence covenants) to facilitate Jacobs Holding's acquisition of Cognita. The 'very effective and skilled' Alexandra Grant is gaining increased visibility in the market as a result of her involvement in many of the team's highest profile cross-border leveraged finance transactions.

Although it is less active than some of its peers due to its reluctance to operate in the lower-mid market, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP handles a significant number of high-profile leveraged finance mandates as a result of its loyal roster of major private equity clients, including KKR, Blackstone and Apax. Many of these matters involve complex financing structures requiring the flexibility to advise on both English and US law across a range of sophisticated European financing transactions and products, including senior secured loans, second lien, mezzanine and other junior debt, bridge loans and high yield bonds. Team head Ian Barratt has an excellent reputation and is praised for his ‘superb service and ability to get great terms for his clients’. Sinead O’Shea is also well regarded, and alongside Barratt, recently advised KKR on a complex financing, which was syndicated in the US and Europe, to facilitate its acquisition of Unilever's global spreads business. Shahpur Kabraji is also recommended and regularly advises leading sponsors and their portfolio companies in connection with a variety of corporate finance transactions.

Particularly strong on the borrower front, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP picks up a significant amount of financing work from the firm's impressive roster of private equity clients on their M&A transactions. Led by Alex Mitchell, the team is well-versed in handling financings throughout the capital structure, and has expertise in relation to European and US-style Term Loan B financings, as well as bank/bond and other multi-source debt transactions.

Led by 'service oriented' dual UK and US-qualified partner Peter Hayes, Shearman & Sterling LLP is effectively able to implement US-facing technologies on cross-border deals, enabling it (either on its own or alongside colleagues in New York) to provide a 'very creative and flexible' service to banks, sponsors and credit funds across the capital structure. Philip Stopford has a growing profile in the market across a range of cross-border acquisition finance mandates, including on public-to-private transactions. He recently advised Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo as lead arrangers in connection with the bridge and term loan financings related to Comcast’s £30bn offer for Sky.

Increasingly well-hedged across both creditor and debtor-side mandates – particularly in light of the arrival at the beginning of 2018 of high-quality sponsor-side leveraged finance practitioner Matthew Cox from Ropes & Gray LLP – Baker McKenzie advises on a range of cross-border matters. The 'technically capable and commercial' Matthew Smith's broad-ranging expertise includes direct lending work, and he recently advised new client Ares on the financing to facilitate Macquarie and MML Capital Partner's successful bid for ParkingEye from Capita.

'Highly commercial and up to speed with market trends', Debevoise & Plimpton LLP's banking and finance team has a strong reputation for handling cross-border borrower-side acquisition finance mandates for core private equity sponsors and corporates, including longstanding client Clayton Dubilier & Rice. With numerous dual US and UK-qualified practitioners in London, as well as being able to tap into the expertise of finance lawyers in the US, the team is well-placed to advise on deals involving bank debt and New York-governed high yield bonds. The firm's fund financing expertise has also been appreciated by sponsor clients, which are increasingly implementing such facilities to provide further liquidity to fund acquisitions. Alan Davies is a 'top performer' and regularly handles leveraged finance work for private equity sponsors.

Drawing upon the firm's overarching strength in the asset management industry, Dechert LLP continues to develop its leveraged finance offering, primarily on behalf of private equity sponsors or for debt funds in their capacity as lenders. The team is active across the capital structure, including senior, second lien, unitranche, mezzanine and PIK, and has particular expertise in relation to funding cross-border deals in the technology and healthcare sectors. John Markland provides 'superior technical advice' to private equity sponsor clients and investee portfolio companies, and alongside direct lending experts David Miles and Philip Butler has been the driving force behind the team's recent emergence as a significant player in the acquisition finance field.

Tapping into the firm's impressive roster of corporate clients, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP handles a significant amount of financing related to M&A activity. The firm is also well-connected to numerous funds (including those with a focus on the energy sector and infrastructure) and regularly handles leveraged financings for them on their investments. On the bank side, the team's market-leading reputation in the reserve based lending space continues to be enhanced by strengthening relationships with some major European and US investment banks on leveraged finance matters.

Benefiting from an 'excellent understanding of the latest developments in the sector', Macfarlanes LLP provides a 'commercially-minded service' to the firm's impressive roster of mid-market focused private equity sponsors. On the lender side, although it is less active for core commercial and investment banks than many in the ranking, it has been very successful in securing significant market share for many of the leading credit funds, including Hayfin and Ares Capital. Kirstie Hutchinson 'is able to harness the latest market developments to get the best outcome for a client' and is highly conversant with unitranche, super-senior, subordinated, high yield and bridge financing techniques.

The 'technically and commercially strong' three-partner team at Proskauer Rose LLP has a 'fantastic reputation' in the alternative lending space among many of the most active credit funds in the market, including Ares and BlueBay. Benefiting from excellent bandwidth across the spectrum of credit fund debt products, the team's market insight (gleaned from vast deal flow) has led to it being consulted to provide input in working party discussions on the development of a new template form of intercreditor agreement for unitranche financings with the Loan Market Association, the syndicated loan market authority in Europe. 'Very responsive and strong' co-head Alex Griffith  is one 'the most prominent practitioners in the mid-market credit fund space'.

Traditionally best-known for its advice to private equity sponsors, Ropes & Gray LLP continues to strengthen its lender-side credentials with a number of recent hires, including the arrival in 2018 of Carol Van der Vorst from Goldman Sachs. Van der Vorst also enhances the team's English law credentials, providing the London group with an increasingly compelling offering which  can advise across products (including New York-governed high yield and UK-governed debt) and geographies. Global finance co-head Michael Kazakevich and London co-managing partner Mike Goetz are key members of the team.

Led by Mark Darley, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP's three-partner team handles acquisition finance work as part of its broader banking offering for a borrower-focused client base. While the firm's high-calibre roster of corporate clients remains the driver for a significant amount of M&A-related financing work handled by the team, the team also handles a large amount of private equity-type financing work for family offices on their international investments. With US and UK-qualified practitioners on the ground in London, and also able to tap into the expertise of lawyers across the firm's US offices, the team is able to adapt US financing techniques and terms to the European market and thereby has the flexibility to handle big-ticket cross-border acquisition financings.

Slaughter and May's generalist banking and finance team has 'excellent knowledge of the loan market' and regularly handles private and public acquisition finance mandates for a borrower-focused client base. Fed a substantial amount of corporate finance mandates from the firm's pre-eminent roster of FTSE 100/250 clients, and also advising a sizeable number of private equity sponsors, the team has impressive knowledge of Term Loan B, unitranche and high-yield bond finance structures, as well as substantive experience advising on Loan Market Association documentation. Other niche areas of expertise include advice on "certain funds public bid" finance matters. Philip Snell heads the team.

The team at Travers Smith LLP is 'best in class' at advising on mid-market private equity-backed acquisition finance mandates, and leverages the firm's deeply entrenched sponsor ties with the likes of Bridgepoint and TA Associates. Although it is best-known for its borrower practice, under the guidance of 'intellectually top-drawer and commercial' team head, Matthew Ayre, the team continues to generate a significant volume of lender work for clients including HSBC. The team has developed particular expertise advising on mandates within the media, leisure, technology, retail and infrastructure spaces.

Led by Alex Dumphy, Addleshaw Goddard's corporate banking team provides a 'pragmatic and commercial service' to borrowers and lenders on mid-market acquisition finance mandates. The firm's strong UK clearing bank relationships ensures that the team continues to pick up a significant volume of domestic and international  leveraged finance mandates across the capital structure, including those incorporating traditional term debt and revolving credit facilities. In addition, it is able to provide asset-based lending expertise and has used this alongside traditional bank debt on acquisition finance transactions. The regional offices, Manchester in particular, generate a significant amount of financing work from private equity sponsors.

Led by the 'fair and balanced' Emma Howdle-Fuller, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP's five-partner team provides a 'client-oriented and solutions-focused' service to UK clearing banks, corporates and a growing roster of funds. The firm's exposure to a wide range of deals across the capital structure and ability to 'embrace the unusual' endears it to clients which are also appreciative of its 'broad knowledge base'. The team is particularly active on mid-market mandates in the leisure/gaming, retail, and real estate sectors.

Led on the corporate and leveraged finance front by Patrick Donegan, CMS has a strong reputation in the mid-market for a balanced roster of private equity sponsors, banks and corporates.  Under the guidance of Charles Kerrigan, who is recognised as 'the go-to person in the London market for funding intangible and digital assets', the team regularly provides the finance input on M&A in the TMT sector.

Effectively drawing upon practitioners from within the firm's asset based lending, structured and funds finance teams, as well as its core leveraged finance offering, Mayer Brown International LLP provides a 'responsive and proactive service' to an impressive mix of banks, funds and alternative lenders. Andrew Crotty has a strong reputation within the mid-market private equity space. Stuart Brinkworth has bolstered the team's prowess on the direct lending front following his arrival in 2018 from Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP.

Frequently teaming up with practitioners from across the firm's vast network of offices, Norton Rose Fulbright's expertise lies in handling multi-jurisdictional acquisition finance mandates for banks, funds and corporates. Team head, Michael Ings, has a particularly strong reputation in handling corporate lending and acquisition finance mandates within the telecoms/media sector, and is also often involved in transactions with a nexus to Africa.  Michael Black is also a key member of the team and adds a unique perspective by virtue of his asset based lending prowess.

Under the guidance of the 'highly skilled' Luke McDougall, Paul Hastings LLP's four-partner team is gaining increased traction and recognition among many prominent investment banks, which are appreciative of its 'versatility and high quality advice across all relevant English and New York law products in the European leveraged finance market'. Able to 'operate across the large and mid-cap space, and between investment bank and private credit clients', the team provides a cohesive service to lenders which is conversant across the capital structure, and traversing both bank and bond financings.

Led by Martin Bishop,  Pinsent Masons LLP's 'highly experienced and knowledgeable' banking team has a strong presence in the mid-market for clearing banks and private equity sponsors, both out of London and regionally from its Manchester and Leeds offices. The team is praised for its 'excellent understanding of the leveraged finance environment and ability to handle complex matters'.

Led on the bank front by Nick Benham and also benefiting from high-yield bond expertise on the capital markets side, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP's two-partner team is focused on handling big-ticket cross-border mandates for corporates, private equity sponsors and banks. Frequently working closely with the firm's corporate/M&A teams in London and New York, the group handles a mix of deals originating in Europe, as well as inbound European mandates on behalf of US corporates (often involving a combination of UK and US-governed debt products, including US Term Loan B and New York-law governed high yield). Benham has particular strength handling public bid financings, including his recent work for Comcast on its £30.6bn takeover of Sky.

Led by Catherine Astruc, Dentons' 11-strong team handles acquisition finance work for international banks, alternative lenders and private equity sponsors. Following the departure in November 2018 of Lee Federman to Jones Day the  team only has one partner in its ranks, but despite its relatively small size on the ground in London it is able to effectively leverage the firm's wide-ranging international network of offices and consequently generates a significant flow of mid-market cross-border mandates, particularly in emerging markets.

Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP is best-known for handling the financing requirements of the firm's impressive roster of mid-market private equity sponsor clients, including Inflexion and LDC. It is able to provide a cost-effective service by dint of its ability to resource matters from London, as well as many of the firm's regional offices, including Birmingham. Significant clearing bank relationships ensure that the firm also regularly handles a range of corporate lending mandates and acquisition financing matters. Co-head of the London banking practice, Nick Swiss, is recommended.

Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP's three-partner team displays 'outstanding levels of knowledge' across the capital structure on behalf of a fairly balanced array of stakeholders, including global banks, private equity sponsors, direct lenders and corporates. Benefiting from a strong international footprint, particularly in the US, the team's expertise is in handling cross-border mandates which incorporate complex inter-creditor arrangements. The arrival at the beginning of 2019 of Neil Caddy from Milbank provides a further degree of specialisation in leveraged finance mandates in light of his significant experience in the space across a wide range of products, including cov-lite Term B loans, unitranche loans and bank-bond transactions.

Headed by the 'excellent' Martin Yells, Taylor Wessing LLP provides a 'high-quality service' to a core roster of banks, as well as an increasing number of private equity sponsors, which it has advised on new money leveraged financings as well as on refinancings of acquisition facilities. The team also regularly works alongside its European network of offices on cross-border deals and often handles work within the TMT sector, where it is able to tap into significant deal flow from the firm's market-leading venture capital team.