Ashurst has advised Barclays on the documentation supporting their unique lending proposition with BlueBay Asset Management's Direct Lending Fund. Barclays and BlueBay have collaborated to offer this solution to medium-sized enterprises in the UK in specific deal situations. They are offering single "unitranche" loans to finance UK financial sponsor-backed mid-market companies. This initiative will provide unitranche loans of up to £120 million, alongside which Barclays can provide other banking services and will be complementary to Barclays' and the Fund's existing lending activities.

This collaboration is a significant development in the UK loan market and involves combining capital from Barclays and the Fund to achieve a single term loan, at a single rate of interest, with common terms and effectively one lender or counterparty.

The benefits of this solution are multi-fold: Barclays and the Fund will offer prospective borrowers a loan that can be deployed more quickly than a traditional deal involving several banks, the loan can be tailored to meet the specific requirements of a business, including committed acquisition or capex facilities to facilitate growth plans, together with the day-to-day banking services of a UK clearer.

The Ashurst team was led by Finance Partner Tim Rennie, assisted by Tax Partner, Paul Miller, Restructuring Partner, Dan Hamilton and Corporate Partner, Isabelle Lentz on Luxembourg issues. BlueBay Asset Management were advised by Hogan Lovells.

Tim Rennie commented:

"We are delighted to have advised Barclays on the documentation supporting their product with Bluebay. This is a great result providing a significant advancement in the UK loan market. This was a true collaborative effort from all parties involved in delivering this new product to market."