Paul Gatward
Paul’s expertise covers general corporate, acquisition, construction and property finance.
He acts for financiers, borrowers and sponsors on a broad range of matters. Paul has advised a number of top ASX listed companies on the restructuring of their debt portfolios, achieving improved terms and tenors more attuned to a post GFC climate. He has also advised on complex financial products and securities structuring.
Paul’s broad skill set, pragmatic approach, and intimate understanding of all parties’ objectives ensures he gets the deal done efficiently, on time and on budget.
Paul is ranked by Chambers Asia-Pacific as a leading individual for Banking and Finance Corporate Finance (2012 & 2013). He is also recognised by Asia-Pacific Legal 500 as a leading lawyer in Banking and Financial Services (2014 & 2015).
Experience
Paul’s recent experience includes:
- Infrastructure Operator: Acted for a top 50 ASX listed corporate in the restructure of its $5.4 billion corporate facilities, including covenant revision and restructuring and release of security with a successful 144A US$2 billion bond issue;
- Property Funds: Acted for a property fund manager that manages various listed and unlisted funds operating in the retail, industrial, office and specialised assets sectors. In the last 18 months, in excess of $800 million has been raised by way of bilateral and syndicated facilities for the various funds under management;
- Financial Services: Acted for a foreign bank in connection with its funding of the acquisition of a retail network of ATMs in Australia, comprising of a $165 million working capital facility and $175 million acquisition term debt facility;
- Energy: Acted for a syndicate of 4 banks in connection with the $320 million general corporate refinancing of Beach Energy Limited. The transaction involved significant security structuring and advice on various risks with the security package that was made available to the bank syndicate;
- Property Funds: Acted for a major Australian bank as lead arranger in connection with a $650 million multi option corporate facility in connection with an overseas fund’s acquisition of a listed Australian property development group;
- Residential Property Development: Acted for a major Australian Bank on a $200m development facility for the greenfields development of Emerald Hills at Leppington in the South West growth corridor of Sydney;
- Property Funds: Acted for 360 Capital on the $420m refinance of the 360 Capital Industrial Fund consequent upon its hostile takeover of Fife Capital’s Australian Industrial REIT;
- Maritime: Acted for a Singaporean Bank as Australian Counsel on the refinancing of USD 315m bank facilities, and restructuring of S200m a bond issuance for, Micylin Express Offshore Ltd;
- Property Funds: Acted for Charter Hall on the financing of the Charter Hall Direct Industrial Fund No.3; and
- Property Funds: Acting for Charter Hall on its refinancing of the Charter Hall Direct Office Fund’s $450m syndicated facility to bring ANZ on as a syndicated financier (along with the existing financiers Westpac and CBA).