Penningtons Manches Cooper expands Madrid office with first corporate partner

Posted: 02/07/2021

Leading law firm Penningtons Manches Cooper is expanding its Madrid office with the appointment of its first senior banking and finance law specialist.

José Millán Martín will join as a partner on Monday 5 July. He was previously at EY in Madrid. Earlier in his career he worked for Uría Menéndez, Allen & Overy and Linklaters. He has more than 15 years’ national and international experience in a variety of corporate and finance work. He has broad experience in acquisition financing, leveraged financing and restructuring. He has also been involved in the financing of multiple projects in different sectors such as energy (including renewables), shipping and transport, as well as in asset (ships and aircraft) financing transactions.

Over the last few years, José has advised on a number of high profile transactions including the restructuring Codere’s EUR 1.1 billion financial indebtedness, the EUR 90 million refinancing of Azaria Rental’s indebtedness and financing of its shareholding restructuring and the EUR 100 million financing of the acquisition of a premium building in Barcelona by Trebol Core Properties.

José’s practice will complement the Madrid office’s existing strength in international trade, maritime and shipping law, and in related litigation and arbitration work. His appointment, and the move into corporate activity, is the latest step in the firm’s international strategy following the 2019 merger with Thomas Cooper. The strategy focuses on continuing to support the areas in which overseas offices have built robust reputations, and enhancing them with new offerings: in January, the Singapore office hired partner Nick Dingemans to lead on the expansion of corporate activity in the Asia-Pacific region.

Partner Helen Drayton, who sits on Penningtons Manches Cooper’s board and leads the firm’s non-contentious business services division commented:

“José’ will be a brilliant asset to our team in Madrid; we’re delighted to welcome him to the firm. I am looking forward to working closely with him as we continue to develop our corporate activity in Europe post Brexit.”

Juan Alegre, partner and head of the Madrid office, said:

“We’re very much looking forward to working with José to develop our corporate activity. He is highly regarded in the Madrid market and is a great fit for the team and our client base.”

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