Posted on: 19 August 2024
Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised longstanding client Citi, as mandated lead arranger, co-ordinator and bookrunner, agent and security trustee, on a strategically important $500 million term and revolving credit facility for luxury travel and leisure company Abercrombie & Kent (A&K).
The facility was put in place to assist A&K with the ongoing expansion of its established and market leading luxury travel business, as well as its newer luxury cruise business ‘Crystal’, with the existing Crystal vessels serving as collateral for the facilities. The Crystal brand is set to expand further following the announcement that A&K has signed an agreement with Fincantieri for the purchase of two high-end passenger cruise vessels.
The Norton Rose Fulbright team advising on the deals was led by the firm’s Co-Head of Asset Finance, Yianni Cheilas, and counsel Matthew Bambury. Yianni and Matthew were supported by counsel Niki Alexandrou, senior associates Nicholas Papadopoulos and Eliana Miliou, associates Rebecca Daniels and Alexander Clarke, and trainees Lucrezia Cavuto and Merna Daabis. London-based acquisition finance partner Neha Khosla, counsel James Tong and associate Jack Zheng assisted on related finance aspects, and partner Kirstin Russel and senior associate Jessica Sorah separately advised Citi as security trustee.
Yianni commented: “It was a pleasure to assist our longstanding client, Citi, with this landmark and strategically important financing for Abercrombie & Kent. The leisure and tourism industry as a whole, and particularly the cruise industry, is currently experiencing a post-COVID boom and it is encouraging to see new entrants to the cruise market such as A&K, who have a substantial pedigree and track record in other aspects of leisure and tourism. We expect this level of activity to continue and transactions like this evidence our ability to combine our global general banking expertise with our sector specific market leading transport, tourism and hospitality practices across the network.”
Norton Rose Fulbright provides the full range of legal services to the global corporate finance, acquisition finance and shipping and offshore finance mandates, including to banks, lessors, brokers, owners and operators worldwide. Its lawyers advise on all aspects of corporate, banking, shipping and offshore transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions, leverage finance, complex leasing deals and ship sales, acquisitions and charter transactions.
