Yorkshire leader Walker Morris has secured a lead role alongside Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer on a £200m rights issue for subprime lender Cattles as the credit squeeze continues to generate work for legal advisers.
The rights issue, which was finalised on 23 April, will raise capital for the FTSE 250 company to support an application to the Financial Services Authority for a banking licence, which requires higher capital strength.
Corporate partners Paul Emmett and Richard Naish led the Walker Morris team advising the longstanding client. It is the second time that Cattles has raised capital in the equity markets after a £133m share placing in March 2007, which Walker Morris also handled.
Freshfields London corporate partners Gareth Stephenson and Mark Trapnell were also instructed by Cattles after the firm advised the Birstall-based company on a previously attempted acquisition.
“This is just another example of how companies have to raise money from shareholders,” Stephenson told Legal Week.
Linklaters, meanwhile, advised a consortium of underwriting banks on the rights issue including HSBC, Citi and Lazard, with London-based corporate partner John Lane leading.
The deal reflects greater pressure on lenders to strengthen their balance sheets in the wake of the current turmoil in credit markets, with HBOS in recent weeks announcing a multibillion-pound rights issue. The FTSE 100 bank was advised on the £4bn deal by Allen & Overy.
The news comes after Freshfields last month advised the Bank of England on a radical liquidity-support scheme, with financial services chief Michael Raffan overseeing an eight-lawyer team, including banking partner Mark Kalderon and finance partner Mac Mackenzie.
