Banks demand Norton Rose drops restrictive covenants

The four-partner acquisition finance team, consisting of Tim Polglase, Clive Wells, Robin Harvey and Andrew Bamber, resigned from Norton Rose in January this year to join Allen & Overy (A&O). Their clients included Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Royal Bank of Scotland and Fuji Bank.
Banking sources have told The Lawyer that the team has been allowed to take a handful of matters with them.
The partners will now be able to handle new instructions from the banks several months earlier than anticipated.
The softened stance on the part of the Norton Rose management was signalled earlier this summer, when Bamber was allowed to start work at A&O on 10 June. Polglase, Wells and Harvey followed suit two weeks later.
It is understood that Tim Polglase was the key figure in the new deal. He is particularly close to Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase. Norton Rose was omitted from Deutsche Bank's leveraged finance panel last year following the bank's concerns about the firm's European coverage.
A&O and Norton Rose declined to comment.