Armando acts for major banks and lenders on corporate and commercial banking transactions, with particular expertise and depth in property, construction and acquisition finance across multiple industry sectors. He also has extensive experience advising on compliance pertaining to lending structures within the self-managed superannuation fund sector.

Biography

Armando acts for major banks and private lenders, including institutions with significant client relationships across property, construction, health, professional services and hospitality. His clients include both financial institutions and corporate borrowers.

Armando advises on all aspects of banking and finance, with extensive experience in corporate and commercial transactions. His focus areas include property finance, construction finance, acquisition finance and self-managed superannuation funds.

Armando works on large corporate and business transactions where complexity and negotiation is involved. His practice spans bilateral and multi-party financing arrangements with institutional and corporate clients.

Armando has developed strong relationships with major banks and lenders over many years of top tier practice prior to joining Thomsons. He is known for both his practical approach and novel way of navigating complex problems.  His industry breadth across property, health, hospitality and professional services gives him cross-sector perspective on structuring and executing financing transactions.

Credentials

Academic qualifications:

Memberships:

Armando's experience

Property finance — Residential and commercial development

Acted for major lenders on construction and development finance transactions across residential and commercial property, including preparation of loan documentation, security packages and settlement.

Major Australian bank

Acted for a major Australian Bank in documenting construction and takeout investment facilities totalling $200 million. Construction facilities were made available for the development of apartments, townhouses, supermarkets and specialty shops in various estates, together with the development of a particular social housing venture. Complex negotiation points included the waterfall repayment structure, qualifying presale and ratio alignments, agreement for lease side deed negotiations and conditions associated with equity release.

Health sector — Institutional lending

Advised financial institutions on lending arrangements to health and professional services businesses, including syndicated and bilateral facilities with tailored security and covenant structures.

Aged care funds manager

Negotiated a revolving facility for a funds manager to support a refurbishments program and regulated buy-backs pertaining to certain aged care facilities. Negotiations involved the form of existing and future residential agreement templates, the operator agreement and manager agreement provisions and factors relating to and timing of minimum occupancy requirements and equity cure thresholds

Acquisition finance — Corporate borrowers

Advised banks and borrowers on acquisition finance transactions across the property, hospitality and automotive sectors, including intercreditor arrangements and mezzanine funding structures.

Self-managed superannuation funds

Advising a major bank in relation to compliance with the in-house asset rules under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act, 1993 (Cth) (SIS Act) in relation to the proposed borrowings by the responsible entities of two separate managed investment schemes and the investment in the borrowing structure by multiple self-managed superannuation funds. The managed investments schemes related to capital raising values of up to $53.41m for a development in Victoria and $5m for a development in Queensland. Issues considered included the matters of control with respect to related party entities and the role of the project manager for the developments, having regard to the bank's internal policies. The advice to the bank involved the drafting and negotiation of documentation required in order to mitigate the risk of potential SIS Act compliance issues. We advised suitable recommendations that allowed the transaction to proceed.

Awards, recognition and ranking