Hamish is the head of our Financial Sector team.
He advises on many types of transaction, including conventional corporate and commercial banking; asset and receivables finance; debt capital markets, securitisation and high yield; derivatives; loan book trading and back leverage; innovative funding structures and unusual assets; and funding restructuring and reorganisation. He is also involved in policy, systems, regulatory and opinion work for financial institutions, and in law reform with government and other stakeholders.
Throughout his career, Hamish has played a leading role in the development of market standards and innovations, for example in securitisation, in structured funding using Scottish limited partnerships, and in cross-border mechanisms for restructuring and enforcement of debt. He has a PhD in cross-border security and insolvency, and he frequently speaks and writes about those subjects, including as Scottish contributor to Yeowart and Parsons on the Law of Financial Collateral.
He is a member of many specialist technical groups, including of the Law Society of Scotland’s Banking, Company & Insolvency Committee.
- Acting for all types of market participants on securitisations of all asset classes, including secured/unsecured commercial/retail loans and credit card, fintech, point-of-sale, mobile phone, auto/equipment, green loan, pharmacy/health, trade and restricted/regulated receivables and on their restructuring, using a variety of funding structures and sources.
- Acting, following the administration of Greensill, for bondholders in relation to pre-existing securitisation by Greensill of supply-chain receivables due from Liberty group in relation to its Lochaber aluminium smelter, backed by a Scottish Government guarantee.
- Acting for Assured Guaranty on two separate substantial wrapped bond issues by a Glasgow City Council entity, backed by major council property assets.
- Acting in setting up and operating funding platform provided for major infrastructure group facilitating security sharing for multiple debt sources, including bank facilities, bonds and other financial instruments.
- Acting on complex asset finance transactions, including for railway rolling stock, North Sea equipment, production line equipment, whisky, hydrocarbon stocks and precious metal catalysts.
- Acting on various types of borrowing base and other asset-based lending facilities, including multi-jurisdictional M&A facilities.
- Acting on numerous fund finance transactions involving Scottish limited partnership fund vehicles, including subscription, net asset value, co-investment and various hybrid facilities.
- Advising on treasury matters, including on derivatives transactions relating to green energy benefits and derivatives transfer and advising financial markets parties and participants on market systems/collateral.
- Acting on a number of repos and other financial crisis transactions, including for Bank of England on the resolution of Dunfermline Building Society by means of the first use of building society special administration and the first asset transfer to a bridge bank.
- Acting on various schemes of arrangement and restructuring plans, including those relating to Premier Oil and to the Vroon shipping group.
- Providing informal assistance on law reform, including to HM Treasury on financial collateral, to DBT’s predecessor on charge registration, to the Scottish Government on receivership and floating charges and, in particular, for over 15 years to the Scottish Law Commission, Government and Parliament and UK bodies on the development and implementation of radical Scottish moveable transactions reforms that came into effect on 1 April 2025.
Hamish has, in particular, played a leading role throughout his career in the development of market standards and innovations in securitisation, in structured funding using Scottish limited partnerships and in cross-border mechanisms for restructuring and enforcement of debt, through coordinated insolvency and otherwise.
