Greg Boyd 

The importance of managing risk across all types of banking and financial transactions has never been more apparent. International and multi-jurisdictional activity, particularly in emerging markets and with alternative credit providers, is driving creativity in structuring and transactions which requires a team of lawyers who know how to get the optimal results from each deal.  

At Collas Crill, our credentials are clear: with our well-established banking and finance team and some of the best known transactions both internationally and locally, there isn’t much we have not encountered.

Successfully navigating the modern global business environment, taking advantage of opportunities as they arise while avoiding legal and regulatory pitfalls, is a challenge for any entrepreneur, business or corporation.

As commercially minded lawyers committed to providing a high quality and cost-effective service we understand those challenges and, more importantly, seek to turn them into opportunities.

Our team has deep experience in complex, multi-jurisdictional corporate reorganisations and reconstructions.

Whether leading the project, or working as part of an integrated team with co-ordinating onshore counsel, we can assist with the variety of debt and equity restructuring processes and procedures available in our Collas Crill jurisdictions; from mergers and acquisitions, to migrations and redomiciliation, to schemes of arrangement and the more innovative and flexible solutions our jurisdictions are known for.  

With our mix of non-contentious and litigation restructuring specialists, Collas Crill offers the unique advantage of having being able to provide a team to seamlessly take a transaction from start to finish. 

Real estate continues to dominate as an asset class for many investors. We have a strong track record in financing commercial real estate acquisitions, mainly in New York and the UK and the London prime market. We act for some of the key lenders in this area. Our clients include banks, funds, alternative lenders, private equity houses, private investors, hotel consortiums and family offices. Locally, we have worked on the funding of some of the most prestigious buildings in our jurisdictions.

Advising on acquisition finance is a key part of our services when acting on merger and acquisition transactions. We work with our corporate teams to provide solutions which may include conventional loans, leveraging the target, accessing capital markets, or typically, a combination of these. We act for lenders, corporates and corporate advisors.

We work both lender and borrower side in funding the acquisition of aircraft, ships, containers, art and other high value assets and advise on finance and operating leases, sale and leaseback transactions, jurisdiction specific transactions such as JOLCOs and the securitisation of asset receivables.

Knowing what to do and when to act when things go wrong is a key part of our service to our clients on both lender and borrower side. Our clients include banks, funds, directors, shareholders and insolvency practitioners. We undertake security reviews and advise on pre-emptive measures. We appreciate the need to act promptly and decisively, and at the same time are sensitive to potential negative publicity for our clients.

We advise on structured bond issues, including covered bonds, convertible debt, private equity and intra-group debt finance and hybrid deals that make use of offshore special purpose debt vehicles. We also advise onshore issuers with listing Eurobonds and other debt instruments on The International Stock Exchange in Guernsey and the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange. Our partners and senior lawyers have significant experience and understanding of the nuances of such transactions, and are very well placed to provide practical, tailored advice.

Our teams have extensive experience of working with cutting-edge technology businesses in this burgeoning sector which increasingly crosses into the capital markets space.

We have the corporate and regulatory expertise to ensure our clients are well supported with the launch of their cryptocurrency businesses, or to raise funds through the issue of virtual tokens. We have advised on the launch of a number of virtual currency exchangers, crypto investment fund managers and funds, and international groups and clients on fundraisings, including raising funds through virtual token offerings.

We advise on all forms of public offerings by companies incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey and Jersey. Our clients include trading companies, SPACs, brokers, advisors and NOMADs, and recent transactions have included listings on both the London Stock Exchange's Main Market and AIM, as well as other leading international exchanges and offshore markets. We cover the full scope of transactions for listed companies, from IPOs to rights issues, secondary offerings, equity bridge financing, mergers and acquisitions, including schemes or arrangement and reverse takeovers, and de-listing.

Good corporate governance and a sound understanding of directors duties is critical. Regardless of size, establishing a best practice approach should be fundamental to all boards. The board of directors are responsible for ensuring the company achieves its objectives and the corporate governance framework they adhere to should underpin their accountability to the company and its members.

We advise company boards in relation to both the non-contentious and contentious aspects of shareholder relations with a focus on corporate governance to prevent contentious issues arising. We have also advised both boards and activist shareholders in relation to highly contentious general meetings and associated issues arising out of investor actions.

Thanks to the depth of our experience and the resources of our team, we've acted on some of the largest pieces of litigation brought against directors offshore. We are well placed to deal with the 'bet the farm' proceedings that can occur in these type of disputes and have represented parties involved in intra-company disputes, including executive, non-executive and independent directors, majority and minority shareholders, companies and liquidators. We understand that shareholder disputes are often not black and white and our team finds innovative and commercial alternatives to those which the Court may offer – taking a collaborative approach with our clients to ensure that the right result is achieved.

Restructuring takes many forms, and we have broad experience in reshaping businesses to the changing needs and demands of the market. The team possesses a hands-on and comprehensive grasp of the intricate challenges that may emerge in restructuring scenarios, whether involving mergers, acquisitions, reorganisations or recapitalisation activities.

An increasing number of business leaders are looking to relocate their business and indeed live offshore. Our pan-departmental relocation team has the knowledge and experience to assist in all aspects of such a move and welcome you to our islands. We are well placed to advise on and project manage such a relocation and can support with company migrations and continuations, regulatory approvals, housing licences and real estate matters through to introductions to other service providers and complementary local businesses.

For guidance on relocating your business in and out of the BVI, Cayman Islands, Guernsey or Jersey, click here.

Offshore vehicles are used for a huge range of purposes either standing alone or as part of large multi-jurisdictional structures. Our highly commercial team specialises in advising clients on the most effective uses of such vehicles and their on-going operation, including normal and cellular companies as well as foundations, unit trusts, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, segregated portfolio and restricted purpose companies.  We are able to advise what jurisdiction among the "Big Four" that we advise on will best suit our client's needs and regularly advise on solvent restructuring by way of merger, consolidation, continuation or balance sheet optimisation as well as court based corporate procedures such as schemes and plans of arrangement.

For financially distressed companies in need of restructuring and reorganisation, or for those where the opportunity to do so has passed or failed, we work to achieve the most beneficial outcome in these difficult situations. 

Currently working on some of the largest and most complex cross-border insolvencies in the jurisdiction, we frequently advise top law firms from the People’s Republic of China, the US, the UK and other jurisdictions. We are regularly briefed by Sovereign Wealth Funds and Fortune 500 Companies to advise on particular restructurings, as well as investment managers from Europe and the US.

At whatever stage we are engaged, our involvement will assist in identifying the ongoing risks facing a client and to enable that client to continue to identify and effectively manage deteriorating relationships with creditors, financiers, investors or other interested parties.

Our dispute resolution specialists collaborate seamlessly with our corporate advisory and banking teams across jurisdictions to advise multinational corporations, trust companies, banks, funds, insurers, governments and directors. We provide a global perspective, working closely with our clients to ensure that they are best placed to respond to customer issues, fraud risks, rapidly changing market conditions and regulatory demands.

Our investment practice is not limited to regulated investment funds. With private capital deployment a global trend we also advise clients on a range of unregulated and private structures. These include structures allowing new promoters to build a track record or investment clubs to access particular investments without incurring the time or financial cost of entering the regulatory regime. In addition we frequently work with our award winning private client team to provide investment fund like solutions for family offices or HNWs. Our team's experience in this often overlooked area of the investment sector can help our clients manage regulation and plan their structures for future growth without unnecessary limitations.

We regularly act in relation to significant mergers and acquisitions activity in our jurisdictions, whether as lead counsel for strictly local matters or as part of an international team for multi-jurisdictional transactions.

We provide expert legal support on both local and cross border amalgamations of regulated and unregulated companies and work closely with our dispute resolution team on local schemes of arrangement.

Our team has a wealth of experience advising on all aspects of corporate acquisitions providing seamless support from agreeing heads of terms all the way through to completion.

Our experienced team will handle the due diligence process, from initial requests for information and documentation, transitioning to the review phase, making further requisitions as necessary and producing a comprehensive due diligence report setting out key issues and areas for risk mitigation.

Our capital markets team have significant onshore as well as offshore experience, giving us an in-depth understanding of all aspects of security issues and capital markets transactions. We advise on the structuring of securitisation vehicles, the promotion of securities and the full range of equity and debt capital markets transactions, including both public equity and debt offerings and mergers and acquisitions, including schemes or arrangement and reverse takeovers.

Economic substance legislation is in place in each of our offshore jurisdictions, requiring all businesses with entities in those jurisdictions to carefully consider whether they fall within scope and if so, what they need to do in order to ensure that they are in compliance with the relevant legislation. We advise businesses on their obligations in this area.

For a high-level comparative guide on the requirements in each of our jurisdictions, click here.