Banking & Finance Senior Associate/Associate

Leveraged Finance Associate/Senior Associate - Manchester | 3+ Years PQE

The leveraged finance market in Manchester is busier than it has been in years, and this team are right at the centre of it. A national banking practice with a growing hub in the city is looking for an ambitious lawyer to help drive its expansion across the North. You will be part of a single, cohesive national team, which means you get the autonomy and visibility of shaping a local presence, with the backing and deal flow of an established, top-tier platform.

The opportunity
The work is varied and consistently high-quality. You will advise on leveraged finance, corporate financings, sponsor-led transactions, and growth lending / venture debt. You will draft and negotiate facilities agreements and security documents, both LMA and non-LMA , and work through intercreditor arrangements. You will sit alongside corporate and restructuring colleagues, which means you will see the full transaction lifecycle, not just one slice of it.

There is also a significant in-life portfolio management element. You will work directly with lenders and borrowers on waivers, resets, restatements, and bolt-ons, building the kind of long-term client relationships that become the foundation of a career.

Matter responsibility comes early, you will not be buried in a document review silo; you will be running deals, attending client meetings, and helping to shape the team's strategy in the Manchester market. The pipeline is strong, the leadership is supportive, and the opportunity to step up is real.

About you
You are a qualified solicitor with strong leveraged finance experience, ideally somewhere between three and seven years' PQE, though the firm is open to exceptional candidates outside that bracket. You know your way around cashflow lending, general banking, and sponsor-led work. You have drafted and negotiated LMA-based facilities, and you are comfortable engaging with lenders, borrowers, and intermediaries.

You are commercially sharp, naturally proactive, and you want to be somewhere that rewards initiative. You are not looking for a back-office role in a distant outpost of a London team. You want to be part of building something visible, in a city you believe in.

What's on offer
A national banking practice with a top 50 UK law firm - one that was the first in its peer group to achieve Platinum Investors in People and that takes culture, innovation, and work-life balance seriously. A competitive salary and benefits package, hybrid working, and the kind of structured support that allows ambitious lawyers to advance. And the chance to put your own stamp on a growing Manchester practice, with all the backing you need to succeed.

Apply now for a confidential conversation.