Ashurst advised Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Crédit Agricole, Helaba and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation as lenders on the 1B Fixed Wing package of the UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS), procured by the Ministry of Defence.

The Fixed Wing (FW) training package is the Fixed Wing element of the wider UKMFTS training programme and includes both ground-based and flying training. The 1B Fixed Wing project is to provide the infrastructure (training school, offices, facilities, housing for simulators and ICT), and the ground based training equipment together with through-life support for the facilities and equipment to enable the FW training to take place.

The borrower/sponsor on the 1B Fixed Wing project is a special purpose vehicle which has been formed jointly by Babcock and Lockheed Martin to procure and manage the development and operation of the facilities.

The Ashurst corporate projects team was led by partners Philip Vernon and Nikhil Markanday, assisted by senior associates John Broadhead and Jonathan Turner, and associates Chris Cochrane and Alex Bartho. Senior associate Andy Wright (pensions) and associates Dominic Boon (employment) and Joanna Sidhu (disputes) also advised on the deal.