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Mourant du Feu & Jeune advises in two award winning securitisation deals

The UK's two leading securitisation industry journals, International Securitisation Report (ISR) and Structured Finance International (SFI), have both recently held their award ceremonies for 2002, including the naming of their "deals of the year". Mourant du Feu & Jeune acted as Jersey legal adviser in relation to both ISR's European Deal of the Year and the joint winner of SFI's Consumer Finance Deal of the Year.

ISR's European Deal of the Year was Permanent Financing (No.1) PLC, a £3.5 billion asset-backed note issue. The transaction involved the securitisation of residential mortgage loans of up to £12 billion originated by Halifax plc, employing a trust structure with Permanent Mortgages Trustee Limited, a Jersey special purpose vehicle, acting as trustee of a mortgage loan receivables trust. Mourant du Feu & Jeune advised in relation to the mortgage loan receivables trust established for the deal. The transaction - the largest cross-border securitisation of residential mortgages launched anywhere up to that point - was named European Deal of the Year by ISR at its Global Securitisation Awards Dinner at the end of January. Mourant du Feu & Jeune has since participated in the further securitisation of an additional £10 billion of residential mortgage loans originated by Halifax plc.

SFI's Consumer Finance Deal of the Year was Affinity 001 PLC, lead managed by Barclays Bank PLC and Credit Suisse First Boston Europe Limited. The transaction involved the securitisation of £400 million of credit card receivables originated by HFC Bank PLC. Mourant du Feu & Jeune acted as Jersey counsel to the originator, receivables trustee and loan note issuers, advising on a number of Jersey-related issues as part of the team which included Freshfields and Clifford Chance.

Alastair Syvret, head of Mourant du Feu & Jeune's International Finance Department, said, "In spite of difficult market conditions Jersey remains a first choice destination for European securitisation work and the deal flow is encouraging. To have Jersey deals recognised by the top market commentators is particularly rewarding and we are pleased that Mourant du Feu & Jeune's expertise in this field contributed to these accolades."

Mourant du Feu & Jeune is a commercial law firm specialising in international finance and commercial law for clients with Jersey law requirements. With eight specialist partners - of its total 25 - and 18 other lawyers operating from offices in Jersey and the City of London, the firm's International Finance department specialises in providing Jersey legal advice to capital markets and structured finance transactions, securitisations, repackagings, property financing transactions, private equity and venture capital funds and other high value financing structures.

Mourant extends reach to Cayman Islands

19 July 2004 Mourant du Feu & Jeune, the offshore law firm, announces that it will open a new offshore legal practice in the Cayman Islands in autumn 2004. The new practice will comprise an experienced Cayman team and will operate from premises in Grand Cayman, with additional dedicated presence at Mourant’s existing City of London offices.

The Cayman legal practice will focus exclusively on international financial business, including structured finance and capital markets, asset and project finance, derivatives and private equity and hedge funds.

In addition to legal services, Mourant is applying for the necessary licences to be able to offer the range of outsourced administration services which Mourant International Finance Administration already provides from European jurisdictions including Jersey, Guernsey, Luxembourg and the UK.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Nicola Davies, Mourant’s Chief Executive, said:

“Mourant’s vision is to be an acknowledged leader in multi-jurisdictional advisory and outsourcing services, recommended and preferred by the world's foremost businesses. This exciting development is an important step towards strengthening the Mourant brand in the markets whose traditional choice of offshore jurisdiction has been Cayman.

“Today’s announcement indicates that we have attracted a team of senior lawyers who recognize the great potential for Mourant in the jurisdiction, ensuring that we will maintain the quality standards that clients expect of Mourant. We intend to expand our Cayman capabilities through further organic expansion to complement our services in Europe.”

Tim Herbert, Managing Partner of Mourant du Feu & Jeune, commented:

“Mourant du Feu & Jeune’s track record underlines our reputation for excellence in complex crossborder finance work. Our stated strategy of jurisdictional expansion in complementary markets has taken a significant step forward by extending into the important offshore market of Cayman. ‘’

Mourant, the international professional and financial services firm, announces that it has reorganised its ownership structure from a partnership to a company called Mourant Limited. All the assets of the former Mourant Group partnership have been transferred to the new company in return for the issuance of shares in Mourant Limited to the former Mourant Group partners. Shares have also been issued to a number of Mourant senior executives and an award of shares has been announced for every employee under a newly established Employee Share Plan. The change of ownership structure is to assist Mourant to continue with its recent and successful expansion into new business sectors and in new territories. , the Jersey and Cayman law firms, will continue to operate as partnerships of lawyers with unlimited liability. All the equity partners of Mourant du Feu & Jeune are shareholders in Mourant Limited. The principal benefits of incorporation for Mourant are: An enhanced ability to attract and retain talent from diverse professional backgrounds and in a range of locations as the business continues to develop Aligning individual performance more closely with financial incentives at all levels of the business through equity participation A structure in which new strategic developments of the fast-growing business are easier to execute, maintaining the commercial agility that has been a hallmark of Mourant's growth to date. A wider choice of financing options to facilitate further expansion and investment in major capital projects. Nicola Davies, Mourant's Chief Executive, said: "Today's announcement reflects Mourant's belief that aligning the interests of every employee with our corporate aims will further enhance our performance and development" "Granting shares reinforces our recognition of the value of the people in our organisation and underlines our commitment to transparency and inclusion within the business" "Following our successful diversification over recent years, our incorporation establishes a framework to encourage further expansion. It will facilitate investment in capital projects and make it easier to recruit senior people in new jurisdictions" "We are confident that our clients will react positively to our incorporation because of the impact it will have on our ability to attract the best talent in the global market place." Mourant Chairman, Ian James, commented: "We're looking forward to the challenge of retaining the best of the partnership culture that has served Mourant so well over the years whilst embracing the advantages of the wider share ownership model used by many of our most successful clients."