Hammonds has lost its former head of banking in Birmingham to Norton Rose.
Ashley Allton will join Norton Rose’s leveraged finance team in May.
Allton was at Hammonds for three and a half years. He was not affected by Hammonds’ recent decision to institute a lock-in as he resigned in September 2004 and has spent the intervening months finalising his move to Norton Rose.
Allton’s practice covers all areas of bank-led leveraged finance. His client base includes the Bank of Scotland, Barclays, HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland. Norton Rose is already a panel member for all but Barclays.
Allton said the synergy between his clients and the firm was one of the attractions of the move.
“Norton Rose does give me a very strong domestic and international platform to build my practice. It’s a fantastic opportunity for me,” Allton told The Lawyer.
With Allton’s arrival, and the promotion of James Dunnett to the partnership on 1 May, Norton Rose’s global leveraged finance team will total 13 partners.
