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Laura

Laura Howard

Senior Associate
About

Laura has been with the firm for over ten years and is a senior associate in the London Real Estate Finance team. Laura has acted for global investments banks, debt funds and other financial institutions on the finance and security aspects of real estate development and investment acquisitions and refinancings across a wide range of assets including retail, offices, warehouse and distribution, residential, sports stadiums and hospitality, regularly on a multi-jurisdictional basis. Laura’s experience also involves providing finance advice to many of our sponsor clients including acting for hotel owners and managers and large residential and commercial real estate developers and investors.

Laura has also advised on the finance aspects of restructuring distressed real estate finance transactions.

Laura completed a successful 9 month secondment with Goldman Sachs in London with their European loans legal team in 2020 gaining experience across a broad range of finance transactions including real estate finance, corporate and acquisition finance, infrastructure and energy deals, debt restructuring and in the secondary debt market.

She also has very good experience working on corporate debt finance transactions as well as hedging and the derivatives market following a client secondment with Deutsche Bank in 2014.

Bar admissions / Professional QualificationsSolicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales

EXPERIENCE

  • Acting for Goldman Sachs and several institutional investors and lenders in connection with FC Barcelona’s EUR1.5bn financing relating to the redevelopment of Camp Nou.
  • Advising Aareal Bank in closing its financing agreement with investment manager Vertiq Capital to finance the acquisition of the Bankside Hotel, Autograph Collection in London, which qualified as a Green Loan.
  • Advising a housebuilder in relation to a portfolio of development sites financed with multiple lenders.
  • Advising a prime-London real estate investor in relation to the refinance of its loans with NatWest and Aviva.
  • Advising on the finance aspects of corporate acquisitions by sponsor clients of various real estate asset portfolios, including retail, care homes and hotels.
  • Advising on the restructuring of existing distressed debt and financing of new super senior money as part of a Restructuring Plan under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006.
Languages
  • English
Education
  • University of Warwick
  • The College of Law, Bristol

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