Clifford Chance

Graduate recruitment in the UK

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Capital Markets

When companies need to raise money, either by issuing debt (typically bonds and their derivatives) or equity (shares and their derivatives), our Capital Markets practice advises leading financial institutions, corporates and sovereign entities around the world, including many of the major investment banks, on large, complex and frequently innovative transactions.

We are leading advisers on the full spectrum of capital markets products, including securitisation, equity-linked bonds, initial public offerings (IPOs), 'straight' debt issuance, hybrid capital and project bonds.

Our lawyers combine local and industry knowledge with an international perspective, providing practical, integrated legal advice for all our clients' global capital-raising activities. Dealing with banks and other financial service providers, trustees and security issuers across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas, we have particular strength in developing markets. In the fast-moving global financial markets our work has a strong international flavour and brings together teams from our offices around the world.

Our Trusts team, which forms a part of the wider Capital Markets Group is the largest dedicated trustee group in London, acting for all of the major corporate trustees advising on a range of work from traditional capital markets issuance, through securitisation to projects and increasingly in respect of security arrangements for corporate restructurings.

Typical work

The Capital Markets practice includes these broad areas of work:

  • Securities - acting for a range of clients, including corporates, investment banks and governmental institutions to raise money through bonds and other debt, equity, equity-linked and hybrid instruments. We are also leaders in the financing and refinancing of private public partnership and private finance initiative (PPP/PFI) projects.

  • Structured debt - dealing with the securitisation (that is, pooling and repackaging of cash-flow-producing financial assets into securities that are then sold to investors) of many different assets, including residential and commercial mortgages, credit card receivables and whole businesses

  • Corporate Finance Trusts - acting for corporate finance trustees (typically our key clients) who require separate legal representation for their role within the securities and structured debt products mentioned here, as well as banking products

Deal length in Capital Markets can vary from one or two weeks to several months. Interaction with colleagues in other practice areas - for example - Corporate, Real Estate and Tax - is common and many of the structures and techniques used are ground- breaking, with completed deals often featuring in the media.

Notable deals

  • Advising Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs in relation to the £2.84 billion loan refinancing of Eurotunnel and the subsequent repackaging of that loan to enable the banks to sell their exposure to the capital markets

  • Acting for Dubai Ports Authority on the IPO of DP World on the DIFX, valuing the world’s fourth biggest container port business at up to USD 21.6 billion. This is the largest IPO in the Middle East to date - Deal insight video>>

  • Acting for Barclays Capital as Arranger of a £660 million commercial mortgage backed securitisation issued through two vehicles Theatre (Hospitals) No.1 PLC and Theatre (Hospitals) No.2 PLC. The transaction involved two securitisations of 36 property finance loans made to property owning entities within the General Healthcare Group and secured on a property portfolio of 36 acute-care private hospitals leased to BMI Healthcare Limited. This deal recently won ISR's CMBS Deal of the Year 2007.

Accolades and Awards

  • Securitisation Team of the Year (IFLR Europe 2005-2008)

  • Structured Products Team of the Year (IFLR Europe 2008)

  • European Securitisation Deal of the Year: Diversity Funding No 1 (IFLR Europe Awards 2008)

  • Structured Products Deal of the Year: Merlin (IFLR Europe Awards 2008)

  • European Securitisation Deal of the Year: Emerald (IFLR Europe Awards 2007)

  • Equity Team of the Year (IFLR Middle East Awards 2007)

  • Equity Deal of the Year: DP World (IFLR Middle East Awards 2007)

  • ECM Deal of the quarter: Vimetco IPO (Financial News Awards 2007)

  • Best Islamic Legal Advisory Firm - (Euromoney Islamic Finance Awards 2008)

  • Best Islamic Finance Law Firm (Islamic Finance News Awards 2007)

  • IPO of the Year: DP World (Islamic Finance News Awards 2007)

  • Port Finance Deal of the Year: DP World (Jane's Transport Finance Awards 2007)

  • Derivatives Law Firm of the Year (Futures and Options World Awards 2007)

What you might do

Your role will depend on the specific deal being carried out, but you can expect a good mix of drafting, client communication and general transaction management. There’s every chance that you may find yourself directly involved in drafting key documents, attending meetings, incorporating companies, liaising with clients, listing securities and organising the closing and signing of transactions.