News | Finance

Friday 20th August 2004

SJ Berwin's Banking Department has acted for Laurel Pub Company Limited and its newly created parent company, Laurel High Street Bars Limited, in a £120 million syndicated facility arranged by Barclays Capital and The Royal Bank of Scotland plc.

The facility was provided as part of the financing/refinancing arrangements on the completion of the disposal by Laurel of its neighbourhood estate to Greene King plc.
The SJ Berwin team was led by banking partner Raji Bartlett and banking associates Glen Russell and Imtiaz Khan. Berwin Leighton Paisner (John Hayward and Vanessa Heap) represented Barclays Capital and The Royal Bank of Scotland.

This transaction follows our Corporate Department's representation in relation to the proposed sale of Laurel's neighbourhood estate for £654 million which contains 432 pubs.

Laurel Pub Company Limited is a leading pub and bar operator backed by private equity group Morgan Grenfell Private Equity.

• SJ Berwin is a full-service international legal practice with more than 450 lawyers across its offices in London, Brussels, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Madrid and Paris.
• SJ Berwin was created and thrives as a leading-edge legal services business, focusing on the European and international market place. Our clients are sophisticated buyers of legal services, principally entrepreneurial companies and financial institutions, whom we advise on a comprehensive range of services including Corporate Finance, Commercial, Real Estate, Banking, Reconstruction & Insolvency, Financial Services, Litigation, Employment & Pensions, EU & Competition and Tax.
• Our approach has resulted in the firm winning a number of recent awards including "Real Estate Team of the Year" at The Lawyer Awards 2004, "World's Leading Firm for Private Funds Expertise" in The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers 2003/4", Private Equity Law Firm of the Year: Firm and Fund Work" at the European Venture Capital Journal Awards 2003, "Best Law Firm (fund documentation)" at the PrivateEquityOnline Awards 2003, "Mid-Market Law Firm of the Year" at the Acquisitions Monthly Awards 2003, "Western Europe - Private Equity Law Firm of the Year" by Chambers Global 2003 and Pro Bono Team of the Year at the Young Solicitors' Pro Bono Awards 2003.
• SJ Berwin's Banking Department advises a wide range of banks, other financial institutions, corporates and venture capitalists on all aspects of banking and finance and is on a number of formally constituted bank panels, including Barclays Bank, HBoS, Nomura, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and Standard Chartered Bank. We are also the external advisers to the Association for Payment Clearing Services and the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company.