Julia Berris, New York
Magic circle partners gather for New York summit on the crisis in the US and European syndicated loan market.
Magic circle partners gathered in New York late last week for a summit on the crisis in the US and European syndicated loan market.
The Loan Market Association's (LMA) conference on Thursday (2 May) brought together UK partners from Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance and Linklaters as well as investment bankers to discuss challenges in the syndicated loan market and the impact of market volatility.
Since the collapse of the US sub-prime market last summer, big ticket private equity deals have dwindled, leaving the syndicated loan market in disarray.
Clifford Chance global head of restructuring and insolvency, Mark Hyde, said: "The markets are certainly beginning to pick up in the UK and we have not yet seen any significant restructurings."
While the US has experienced a shift in the market creating a rise in litigation, such as an increase in disputes in the collateralised debt obligation (CDO) market, the UK has yet to see a clear shift in this direction.
Linklaters global head of restructuring, Tony Bugg, explained that UK restructuring has been shaped by a number of recent trends such as covenant-lite and the impact of the UK pension regulator.
Bugg said: "Significant restructuring in the UK will look very different now. If you look at the Polestar restructuring we see the pension trustees playing a major role. The role of the pensions regulator that means that the dynamic has changed and sponsors will no longer be in such a position of dominance."
