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Nikki Smythe

Nikki Smythe

Partner

Partner
Nikki Smythe

Nikki is a finance and restructuring practitioner with extensive experience advising on complex domestic and cross-border financing, debt restructuring and insolvency transactions. Nikki acts for private credit funds, private equity funds, alternative investment funds, corporates, investment banks and other financial institutions on a broad range of financing, restructuring & insolvency matters including special situations lending, structured finance, complex real estate financing transactions, securitisation, rescue finance and restructurings, and distressed loan portfolio sales.

Nikki is highly experienced across a broad range of financing products and across multiple sectors, including real estate, financial services, mining, mining services, aviation, logistics, tech and healthcare, and uses this experience to help clients find innovative and bespoke financing solutions that meet the needs of their specific situations.

Nikki is the current Chair of the NSW Committee of the Turnaround Management Association. Prior to joining Clifford Chance, Nikki was a partner in the Sydney office of Herbert Smith Freehills.

  • Bain Capital Credit on its secured Holdco financing to refinance its debt facilities and fund additional growth.
  • Bain Capital on its acquisition of Virgin Australia out of voluntary administration. *
  • Bain Capital Credit on its investment into Allied Credit Limited, including an unsecured holdco loan note provided to fund growth.*
  • Allegro Funds on the financing aspects of its acquisition of Toll Global Express (now Team Global Express), which involved advising on 4 different financing packages, including a receivables facility, acquisition facility, ABL facility and LC facility.*
  • OCP Asia on its debt financing facility to Malabar Resources Limited to fund the construction and expansion of its coal mines in the Hunter region and an associated royalty.*
  • Virgin Australia on its pre-IPO financing bridge facilities*.
  • Bain Capital Credit and Goldman Sachs on A$1bn holdco PIK note financing provided to the ATI group to finance various acquisitions and its US expansion and associated warrants.*
  • Bis Industries on all of its debt financing arrangements since its debt for equity restructuring in December 2017, including its most recent refinancing in July 2022 and subsequent debt restructuring and recapitalisation in August 2023.*
  • Brookfield Asset Management on the financing aspects of its acquisition of La Trobe Financial Services, including an A$ TLB holdco financing and its subsequent upsize.*
  • Genesis Care on the Australian aspects of the financing arrangements relating to its Chapter 11 process and emergence therefrom (including its DIP financing facilities and exit financing facilities).*
  • Tor Investment Management on its financing facility to Intelligent Monitoring Group to finance its acquisition of certain companies formerly owned by Signature Security Group and associated warrants.*
  • Nomura on financing facilities provided to the Grow Financial Services group, which included a holdco secured corporate facility (and an associated minority equity investment) and a warehouse facility to finance trade and asset finance receivables originated by Grow.*
  • Camp Australia on its debt restructuring and recapitalisation.*
  • OCP Asia on debt facilities provided to GB Energy Pty Ltd to fund the development of a gas storage facility in Victoria and associated warrants.*
  • Oaktree Capital on its proposed cornerstone financing to recapitalise Freedom Foods (now Numi).*
  • Tor Investment Management on debt facilities provided to Tellus Holdings Limited to refinance its original project financing facilities.*
  • A consortium comprised of Deutsche Bank, KKR and Värde Partners on the circa $6bn securitised financing of their acquisition of the GE consumer finance business (now Latitude Financial Services).*
  • Deutsche Bank and Bain Capital Credit on the structured financing of their acquisition of the GE commercial finance business.*
  • Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies on the Australian financing aspects of its acquisition of GEs real estate loan portfolio.*

News and client work

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Contact details

Career and qualifications

  • University of New South Wales, BA/LLB, 2004
  • Admitted in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, 2005
  • Herbert Smith Freehills, Partner (2018 – 2024)
  • Clifford Chance, Partner (2024 – present)

Professional bodies

  • Turnaround Management Association, 2024 Chair of the NSW Committee

Awards and citations

  • Legal500 Australia 2024, Restructuring and Insolvency, Next Generation Partner
  • Chambers and Partners Australia, Band 2 ranked individual since 2022
  • Lawyers Weekly Awards, winner of ‘Deal Maker of the Year’ 2021
  • Best Lawyers, Restructuring & Insolvency and Investment Funds 

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