Alternative Lending

The alternative lending market in Australia is following a growth trajectory comparable to that of offshore markets. A reduced risk appetite and increasing regulation have diminished the lending appetite of traditional lenders, such as banks and financial institutions.

This has left a gap in the market for a new breed of lenders to provide a range of different offerings that meet the demand from borrowers not being catered for by traditional lenders. Increasingly debt funds, institutions and investors are providing funding solutions to corporate borrowers in Australia at different levels of the capital structure, including as participants in senior secured and unsecured financings, as mezzanine second lien or holdco payment in kind (PIK) providers as peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders, or as holders of convertible instruments.

Whether you are a borrower or a lender, successfully navigating this rapidly growing and changing alternative lending environment requires access to legal expertise at the cutting edge of market developments. Our Finance team is made up of market leaders in their respective areas of specialisation including corporate finance, financial regulation, securitisation, fund management and debt capital markets. As a full service firm we are able to also able to coordinate specialist finance advice with advice from other practice groups including tax, and IP & technology.

We have extensive experience in implementing complex and unusual secured or unsecured funding structures, including warranted mezzanine, convertible notes into listed and unlisted Groups, PIK Notes, MIS funding and complicated multi-tiered financing structures.

Our team has implemented these structures across a variety of transactions ranging from distressed assets seeking non-traditional sources of finance to recapitalisations and equity-return structures outside of standard corporate lending practices. Whatever your requirements may be, we will be able to guide you through the process and partner with you to achieve the best possible outcome in this constantly evolving environment.