Overview
Nick Brittain is a senior corporate attorney in the Real Estate and Finance practices of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s London office. Nick advises on structured finance solutions for a wide range of international asset classes and structured finance disciplines with a particular emphasis on real estate.
Nick has significant experience acting for lenders on complex real estate acquisition and development financings and has advised on a range of servicing, strategic and enforcement issues for real estate clients. His practice has included financings of healthcare and senior care facilities, student housing, hotels and leisure parks, solar farms and rooftop solar installations, restructurings, supply chain financing, commercial real estate repo facilities, fine art financing, asset backed lending and asset backed securitisations.
Nick has been praised by clients for his strong analytical and structuring skills, and his clear, strategic advice in difficult and protracted negotiations.
Accolades
- Derivatives and Structured Products, Securitisation and Property Finance, Legal 500 UK (2024)
- Derivatives and Structured Products and Securitisation, Legal 500 UK (2023)
- Noted as “[having] extensive experience across all asset classes.”
- Securitisation Law, Best Lawyers (2022)
- Derivatives and Structured Products and Securitisation, Legal 500 UK (2017)
- Recommended, Securitisation, Legal 500 UK (2016)
- Described by clients as “approachable, clear and extremely knowledgeable.”
- Recommended, Securitisation, Legal 500 UK (2015)
- Praised by clients for “clear and thoughtful advice.”
- International Law Office 2015 Client Choice Award (Securitisation & Structured Finance)
Education
- Lancaster Gate, Law Society Finals, College of Law, 1990
- Lancaster Gate, Common Professional Exam, College of Law, 1989
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, M.S. Aerospace Engineering, 1986
- Glasgow University, BSc (Hons – 1st Class) Aeronautical Engineering, 1984
Representations
- CREF/Care Homes: Acquisition of various portfolios of care homes in the U.K., including due diligence on third-party funding, leading the team on bridge financing pending acquisition and leading the team on intragroup financing and fund flows.
- CREF/Restructuring: A prominent investment fund in the initial investment, successful restructuring and final repayment of a student accommodation financing. The fund acted as mezzanine lender and, during refinancing, required strategic advice on its ability to use its enforcement rights to force a successful restructuring.
- CREF/Restructuring: Refinancing of a £530 million commercial mortgage-backed hotels securitisation that required buy-in of diverse parties to revised intercreditor arrangements, rescheduled subordinated finance, a debt for equity swap and injection of further equity.
- CREF/Restructuring: Strategic enforcement issues arising on securitised commercial mortgage-backed loans located in various European jurisdictions. Advice ranged from extension on terms to implementation of formal insolvency processes.
- CREF/Repo: Amendment and updating of CRE repo documentation and underlying transactions to allow for LMA style risk free rates to be used for sterling, Euro and other currencies.
- CREF/Development: Development financing of caravan sites and mobile home inventory, including the application of traditional development finance techniques as well as separate issues of protection of chattel mortgages on mobile homes that were to be sold as part of the normal business of the borrower.
- Securitisation/Renewables: Implementation of a note issuance and securitisation programme for the securitisation of solar park income and other renewable energy sources, giving flexible refinancing sources in the renewables energy sector.
Matters may have been completed prior to joining Paul Hastings