Aviation experts at Mourant win Airfinance Journal award

Mourant Hong Kong has won a prestigious award for 'Best cross-border airline or lessor financing by a Chinese financier' category at Airfinance Journal's inaugural China Awards, for the leading offshore law firm's involvement in advising Comsys (Tianjin) Leasing Company Ltd. on its acquisition of an Airbus A380 aircraft.

The firm acted as Cayman Islands counsel on the secured loan financing provided by China Development Bank and leaseback of the Airbus A380 aircraft to Mauritius-based operating lessor, Veling Group, with a 12-year operating lease attached to Emirates. This transaction marks the first A380 with a privately owned Chinese leasing company (Comsys).

The Airfinance Journal awards are the oldest and most prestigious aviation finance awards. For more than 27 years, their annual events have celebrated excellence, lauding the best deals, most innovative structures and smartest companies.

Mourant Hong Kong Partner, Danielle Roman, said: "This exciting cross-border transaction involved aggressive timeframes across multiple jurisdictions, each of which added to the complexity and difficulty of the transaction management. It is a landmark precedent for aircraft financing transactions involving both Chinese and European lessors. We are pleased to have been recognised by the Airfinance Journal awards, our global banking and finance team have worked hard to gain our clients' trust so that we can advise on a some of the highest profile and most innovative transactions in the aviation market."

The asset finance team was led by Partner, Danielle Roman who was assisted by Associate, Tracey Forbes and Legal Assistant, Elise Yao. The team worked on this transaction alongside King & Wood Mallesons, Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee, K&L Gates LLP and Watson, Farley & Williams LLP.

The awards evening will take place on 14 June at the St Regis Shanghai.