All Professionals
Overview
Leon is a partner in the Fund Finance practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s London office. He works with bank and non-bank lenders, managers, general partners and limited partners on fund financing transactions with private equity, secondaries, real estate, private credit and infrastructure funds. He has over two decades of experience advising clients in the fund finance industry and also sits on the European Advisory Committee of the Fund Finance Association.
Leon has extensive knowledge of Net Asset Value (NAV) and hybrid facilities, back leverage facilities, secondary funds facilities, capital call facilities, co-investment and GP/manager support facilities and other types of liquidity facilities provided to funds; and also represents a large proportion of lenders that provide fund financing, as well as a number of private equity and other funds on complex fund finance transactions.
Accolades
- Recognized in the prestigious, client-selected Thomson Reuters Stand-Out Lawyers listing for 2026
- London Banking & Finance: Fund Finance, Chambers UK (2021-2026)
- Leading Partner for Investment fund formation and management: Fund finance, Legal 500 UK (2026)
- Notable Practitioner for United Kingdom Banking and for Banking and Finance (Investment Management), IFLR1000 Global ((2020-2024 and 2025, respectively)
- “He is very commercial, he is an excellent networker who brings people together and gives good advice, and he is very good at complex structures.” - Chambers, Banking and finance: lenders – mid-market, 2022
- “Leon is very good and is very well known in the space - a pioneer of making deals happen.” - Chambers, Banking and finance: lenders – mid-market, 2022
- “He is excellent, a real businessman as well as a lawyer.” - Chambers, Banking and finance: lenders – mid-market, 2022
Education
- Nottingham Trent University, LPC, 1995
- University of Cambridge, Gonville and Caius College, B.A. (Hons), 1994
- University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris Chamber of Commerce Certificate of Commercial and Economical French & Annual Diploma of French Language and Civilization, 2000
- Financial Times Non-Executive Director Diploma, 2023
Representations
- NatWest Markets on its role as lead arranger and facility agent for The Carlyle Group on a €2.3 billion ESG-linked credit facility for its European private equity and real estate platform. The facility was formed to support Carlyle’s 30% board diversity target, to tackle climate change by having more accurate and comprehensive measurements of greenhouse gas emissions across all portfolio companies, and to improve ESG outcomes through better governance by providing ESG-competent board training for all Carlyle board directors.
- Advising a large private credit fund lender on a $4 billion NAV facility secured against a diverse portfolio of late-stage software investments
- A large U.S. investment bank in relation to a NAV facility to a secondary fund secured against LP interests
- An Australian bank on multiple NAV facilities to a large infrastructure fund
- A specialized non-bank lender on a NAV facility to a mid-market private equity fund
- Natixis on a large hybrid funds financing to an Asia-based private equity fund
- Goldman Sachs on a co-investment facility to the partners of a large private equity fund
- HSBC Innovation Bank on a significant number of capital call, NAV and GP support facilities
- Natixis on a hybrid funds financing to R-Bridge (part of CBC Group)
- A syndicate of 12 banks on a subscription line facility to a large Scandinavian-headquartered private equity fund
- A syndicate of four banks on a subscription line facility to a large direct lending fund
- Advising an African-focused private equity fund on over 10 different capital call, subscription line and management line facilities
- A French-based private equity sponsor on various NAV facilities
- A Scandinavian bank on an umbrella subscription line facility to a large European sponsor with diverse strategies
- A specialist non-bank fund finance lender on a feeder fund hybrid facility using rated insurance money as the source of capital
- A European-based private credit fund on multiple back-leverage transactions including by way of senior loan, total return swap and repurchase agreements.
- A large U.S. bank on an ABL facility secured against a large portfolio of loans on a securitization basis
- A U.K. bank on an ABL secured against a large portfolio of loans on a non-securitization basis
- A bank on various facilities to German-based funds with specific structuring considerations
- A bank on various facilities to French-based funds using “stipulation pour autrui” techniques to secure the facility
- A non-bank on a facility to a French-based fund using the bond loan agreement form of financing
- Over 15 different banks on more than 30 different financings to a large global private credit fund
- An insurance company on its participations and sub-participations into subscription line facilities
- MUFG on multiple subscription line facilities to various sponsors
- Advising two lenders on a syndicated facility to a sustainable impact fund
Matters may have been handled prior to joining Paul Hastings.
Engagement & Publications
Speaking Engagements
- Regular speaker and moderator on panels of the Global and European Fund Finance Association Symposia
- Regular speaker on the panels at the Deal Catalyst and Loan Market Association conferences
Publications
- Author from the first edition up to and including the 2026 edition of Chapter 1 (NAV and Hybrid Fund Finance Facilities) of the GLI Fund Finance “Pink book”
- “Evolution in the Investor Bases of Private Market Funds,” Fund Finance Association Spotlight, Co-Author (July 2026)
- “Introduction to fund finance — capital call facilities,” Lexis Nexis, Co-Author (2026)
- “Fund Finance Laws and Regulations 2026,” Global Legal Insights, Contributing Author (2026)
- “The impact of rated note feeder funds on subscription-line facilities”| Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law, Co-Author (2023)
- “The ESG revolution in funds finance” Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law, Author (2022)
- “Fund Finance: The Rise of the Hybrids, Private Debt Investor, Author (2018)
Involvement
- Member – Loan Market Association
- Member – European Advisory Committee of the Fund Finance Association
- Member – New York Bar Association
- A past member of the Executive Committee at the previous firm