Helen Gerrard

Helen has many years’ experience as a corporate and finance lawyer, working on company transactions and restructurings.

Prior to joining Ignition in 2016, Helen worked at Magic Circle law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer for many years – in both London and New York – as well as at O’Melveny & Myers LLP in New York and Linklaters in London.  She has also undertaken secondments to Goldman Sachs, Alcentra, Barings, Barclays Bank PLC and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd.

Helen acts for both borrowers and lenders in various industries, advising on all aspects of corporate lending and restructuring. Her extensive experience includes syndicated and bilateral facilities, real estate and acquisition finance and shareholder/director funding, as well as many large scale restructurings (acting for companies in distress or advising the coordinating committee of lenders).

Recent corporate and finance law experience:

• Advising sponsors, companies, banks, alternative capital providers and other UK, European and US financial institutions on a variety of complex, cross-border corporate and finance transactions.
• Being the finance lead for a large industrial production company, advising on their various debt facilities and subsequently the restructuring of their debt facilities during financial difficulties.
• Representing a large hotel group on the restructuring of their debt facilities (which were LMA based), which involved more than 35 jurisdictions.
• Advising the portfolio companies of large European private equity houses, which included cross-border transactions across a wide range of jurisdictions.
• Advising on LMA documentation (both facility and intercreditor agreements) and related security documentation for both borrowers and lenders across a range of sectors.
• Representing a broad range of UK and European start-ups on their debt and equity funding rounds.
• Being the corporate and finance lead on a large funding round involving convertible loan notes, led by a large institutional investor.
• Being the corporate lead for Applied Blockchain on their first institutional investment rounds which involved the likes of Shell, Calibrate, QBN Capital.
• Being the corporate lead on the Applica’s Series A round lead by Cogito Capital Partners.
• Advising Signol on their first large institutional investment round via a CLN alongside equity funding.
• Acting for an aerospace technology company on a variety of corporate matters.
• Advising a recruitment technology company on its early stage corporate needs leading to its first investment round.
• Advising many technology and media companies on various investment rounds from early stage to their first institutional investment round and beyond.
• Advising on a variety of complex, cross-border corporate and finance transactions, for both sponsors, companies, banks, alternative capital providers and other financial institutions.
• Advising the founder on the share sale of his technology business, which involved the founder remaining a consultant for the company in the short term.
• Advising on various share sales and assets across a wide range of industries.
• Acting for several non-UK based start-up companies with their UK corporate requirements, including share transfers and acquisitions and exits.
• Representing a Swedish financial institution on certain corporate and finance matters.
• Advising several non-UK based companies on their UK corporate and finance requirements, including LMA documentation for bilateral and syndicated lending facilities and both secured and unsecured financing.
• Advising the founder on the share sale of his technology business, which involved the founder remaining a consultant for the company in the short term.
• Advising on the sale of Bear Grylls’ media business to Banijay Group.
• Advising the founder on the share sale of his medical business, which involved the founder remaining a consultant for the company in the short term.
• Advising on the share sale of a talent management business.
• Advising on the share sale of a music festival business.
• Advising on the asset sale of a technology business in which both founders retained employment with the buying company.
• Advising the owners of a mortgage lending business and other lending businesses on the sale of the company to a competitor.
• Advising on the acquisition of a leisure company.
• Advising on the share sale of a recruitment business.
• Advising on the acquisition of an education provider.
• Advising on the share sale of a medtech company.