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Toby Grimstone

Co-Head of Corporate and Structured Lending, London

“I am an experienced banking lawyer, advising on a wide range of complex products across the credit spectrum. I have particular knowledge of corporate acquisition financings and various financings in emerging markets, and am skilled at delivering solutions for clients that bridge challenging legal, cultural and practical differences.”

Overview

Professional experience

Education and qualifications

Overview

Toby specialises in international banking deals. He has wide-ranging knowledge advising banks and borrowers in syndicated and secured bank financings, with a particular focus on corporate lending, event-driven, structured and limited recourse financings (including commodities, structured trade and export financings in emerging markets).

Toby leads the firm’s relationship with a number of major mining and banking clients and is one of the firm’s mining sector leaders.

Toby is actively involved in the firm’s Africa practice and is also co-head of the firm’s Nigeria desk and a member of the coordinating committee covering the firm’s alliance with South Africa’s premier law firm Webber Wentzel.

Toby spent three years in the firm’s Singapore office and was seconded to Credit Suisse (in 2001) and Barclays (in 2007), equipping him with first-hand knowledge of the banking sector and deep insight into the relationship between banks and law firms.

Work highlights

Toby has led on, or been a key adviser in, many of the most significant deals in recent years. Highlights include advising:

  • Glencore Energy UK on its acquisition, together the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), of a 20% stake in Rosneft, Russia’s state-owned oil and gas concern and one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world
  • BP on pre-export finance facilities of up to US$5.25bn for BP Angola and BP Caspian
  • Steinhoff International Holdings on the financing of its proposed US$3.8bn acquisition of Mattress Firm Holding, a specialty retailer of mattresses in the U.S., and on the £597m recommended takeover of UK discount retailer Poundland
  • Glencore on its pre-IPO financing, IPO and merger with Xstrata
  • the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), the UK's statutory fund of last resort for customers of financial services firms, on its annual financings
  • on various financings for Jimmy Choo, Nando's, Caffe Nero, Admiral, Paddy Power and other significant corporates.

 

Professional experience

Toby regularly presents on financing matters at LMA and other industry conferences.

Education and qualifications

Toby studied law at Merton College, Oxford University.