Key Takeaways
- • McDermott Will & Emery arranged a £425m unitranche refinancing facility for Ares Management as lender, arranger, agent, and security agent on behalf of Charles Taylor Group, a UK-based insurance services provider.
- • The refinancing structure utilized a unitranche facility, a hybrid debt instrument combining characteristics of senior and subordinated debt, commonly deployed in leveraged finance transactions to simplify capital structures.
- • Charles Taylor operates across global insurance markets with specialization in claims management, technology solutions, and complex insurance services, positioning the company as a key player in the UK professional services insurance ecosystem.
- • Ares Management, a £500bn+ alternative asset manager with expertise in credit, private equity, real estate, and secondary markets, utilized this refinancing to optimize the capital structure of its portfolio company.
- • McDermott's transaction team was led by partner Aymen Mahmoud with support from associates Giulia Venanzoni and Ryan Clarke, demonstrating the firm's deep bench strength in large-scale, multi-jurisdictional credit facilities.
Summary
McDermott Will & Emery advised Ares Management Limited on a £425 million refinancing of Charles Taylor Group and its affiliates through a unitranche facility structure, in which Ares served simultaneously as lender, arranger, agent, and security agent. The transaction, announced in September 2021, represents a significant capital optimization initiative for a leading provider of professional services to the global insurance market.
Charles Taylor operates a diversified platform delivering insurance claims management, technology solutions, and specialized advisory services across complex risk situations. The company's business model emphasizes long-term client relationships and technical expertise, particularly in handling sophisticated insurance claims and risk management scenarios requiring specialized technical knowledge and proprietary technology infrastructure.
Ares Management, established in 1997 and managing substantial capital across multiple alternative asset classes, structured the refinancing to optimize the capital base of its insurance services portfolio company. The unitranche approach—combining senior and subordinated debt characteristics into a single instrument—provided flexibility in structuring the facility while simplifying the overall capital stack. This financing structure is increasingly favored in mid-market and upper-middle-market transactions where lenders seek operational simplicity and borrowers require flexible covenant packages.
The McDermott team executing the transaction was led by partner Aymen Mahmoud, supported by associates Giulia Venanzoni and Ryan Clarke. The breadth of McDermott's involvement across lending, arranging, and agency functions underscores the complexity of the underlying transaction and the firm's capacity to manage multi-faceted roles in large-scale credit facilities.
Charles Taylor operates a diversified platform delivering insurance claims management, technology solutions, and specialized advisory services across complex risk situations. The company's business model emphasizes long-term client relationships and technical expertise, particularly in handling sophisticated insurance claims and risk management scenarios requiring specialized technical knowledge and proprietary technology infrastructure.
Ares Management, established in 1997 and managing substantial capital across multiple alternative asset classes, structured the refinancing to optimize the capital base of its insurance services portfolio company. The unitranche approach—combining senior and subordinated debt characteristics into a single instrument—provided flexibility in structuring the facility while simplifying the overall capital stack. This financing structure is increasingly favored in mid-market and upper-middle-market transactions where lenders seek operational simplicity and borrowers require flexible covenant packages.
The McDermott team executing the transaction was led by partner Aymen Mahmoud, supported by associates Giulia Venanzoni and Ryan Clarke. The breadth of McDermott's involvement across lending, arranging, and agency functions underscores the complexity of the underlying transaction and the firm's capacity to manage multi-faceted roles in large-scale credit facilities.
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