Jon Lent
London
Partner, Finance
T+44 20 7759 6631
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Professional
Trained at Lawrence Graham, 2003-2005
Associate, Lawrence Graham LLP, 2005-2010
Senior Associate, Lawrence Graham LLP, 2010 to 2012
Partner, Lawrence Graham LLP, May 2012 to date

Expertise

Jon is a finance and restructuring partner, advising borrowers, investors, corporates, financial institutions, and loan servicers/special servicers, on:

 

Real estate finance transactions in the UK and Europe, including:

  • investment and development facilities
  • hotel financings
  • care homes and healthcare financings
  • shopping centres, offices, industrial, high-end residential, and portfolio transactions

All aspects of mezzanine financing and intercreditor arrangements

Debt finance restructurings, debt-for-equity swaps and loan-to-own transactions

Par and distressed loan sales and purchases, participations, and debt buy-backs

ISDA swap/cap transactions and related collateral arrangements

Jon also acts on the funding of corporate acquisitions and disposals; dispute resolution and real estate support work; and loan and security arrangements for private clients



Experience

Jon's experience includes acting for:

  • UK and US financial institutions on various acquisition and refinancing facilities
  • The lending bank on development facilities for the construction of the Motel One hotel in Edinburgh
  • German banks on more than 25 financing transactions (including club deals) over the last 5 years, with an aggregate loan value well in excess of £1bn, secured on prime, City and secondary UK properties
  • Longbow and other mezzanine lenders on a number of mezzanine facilities, intercreditor agreements and upside arrangements
  • A Middle Eastern investor on £120m hotel financing facilities from Aareal Bank for the £192m purchase of the Sanderson Hotel and St Martin's Lane Hotel
  • The investors on their £397m acquisition-and-management-back of 16 Hilton-managed hotels from the Hilton Group (trifurcated facilities of c£340m), and their subsequent successful restructuring; and on their £1.1bn acquisition of 47 Marriott-managed hotels from RBS (multi-tranched facilities of c£925m) and subsequent abortive restructuring
  • Caring Homes in respect of acquisition, development and capex facilities aggregating in excess of £600m
  • Banks and financial institutions, borrowers, investors, loan-to-own investors and new money lenders, on debt finance restructurings, profit share arrangements, debt-for-equity swaps, and intercreditor arrangements, in respect of Sterling and Euro loans secured on real estate assets in the UK and Europe
  • Loan servicers on debt restructurings, servicing matters and issuer- and borrower- level hedges
  • The acquiring fund on note issuance facilities aggregating in excess of £275m for the purchase of various portfolios of performing residential mortgage loans
  • A pan-European property company on its €100m FX and currency swap-line facilities
  • A mezzanine lender on the restructuring of loans secured on European port assets, and subsequent loan sales to an equity sponsor
  • An exiting lender on  the disposal of stapled debt and equity interests in a major UK company


Testimonials
Jon has been recommended in The Legal 500 for his "problem solving and negotiation skills"

Publications and speaking

Authored an article for the Management Circle (a German publication) on the Loan Market Association (LMA) and a commentary for borrowers on selected provisions of the LMA's recommended form of syndicated loan agreement (March 2007)

Co-authored and presented seminars and full-day workshops to various clients on a number of topics, including debt finance restructuring, debt-for-equity swaps, AB structures, mezzanine lending and intercreditor arrangements, loan-to-own, real estate finance and the LMA

Presented to the LG Recovery Bankers' Healthcare Forum on the subject of healthcare restructuring

Services


Sectors

Memberships
Member of the Loan Market Association (LMA)

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