Ashurst has continued to hire into its banking practice, appointing King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) partner Robert Andrews to its London office.
Specialising in funds finance, Andrews (pictured) is well respected in the market and was a significant biller for KWM in London last year. He has led funds finance transactions for major banks such as Barclays Bank, Lloyds Banking Group and The Royal Bank of Scotland as well as a number of private equity funds.
Andrews has also advised arranging banks and private equity sponsors on acquisition finance transactions including public-to-private deals and pan-European and US refinancings, with total borrowings of several billion, and has acted on real estate financing for Deutsche Bank and The Royal Bank of Scotland.
Andrews’ move to the firm coincides with the hire of RBS head of EMEA loan markets Dave Rome to a newly-created position of strategic director of corporate lending. In his new role, Rome will bring his 25 years’ experience at RBS and NatWest across the UK, Europe and Asia to develop and grow drive the firm’s strategy across syndicated loan markets. The pair join the firm’s 38 partner-strong finance offering in its London office. Going the other way, Ashurst lost financial regulation head Rob Moulton to Latham & Watkins at the end of last month.
Ashurst head of bank industry Lee Doyle told Legal Business the future was looking positive. ‘Obviously the market has got significant challenges coming up, but the Ashurst banking practice is stronger than it’s ever been. It has more opportunities to grow than it’s ever had before. We’ve responded to client demand and client need and the market feedback is really positive.’
Andrews is the fourth notable KWM defector to Ashurst in the past twelve months. He joins real estate duo Darren Rogers and Patrick Williams and corporate partner Joshua Cole, who is based in Ashurst’s Hong Kong office.
