Surety

Traditionally a mainstay of the construction/infrastructure sector, we have also helped our surety clients innovatively deploy bonds and guarantees in a range of other sectors/industries both at home and abroad.

We advise on all aspects of bonds and guarantees including:

Bespoke, complex bond/guarantee wordings; facility/indemnity agreements; security arrangements; co-surety agreements and inter-creditor agreements.
Positioning bonds and guarantees in complex project structures.
Performance, adjudication and retention bonds on construction/infrastructure projects.
Refund guarantees and advance payment bonds.
Pension bonds.
Bank participation agreements.
Backed up by in-house specialist sector knowledge/expertise, helping sureties and brokers analyse and explore innovative new market opportunities – including technology, defence, education, health, shipping, transport, retail and energy.
Positioning of sureties in corporate restructurings and work-outs.
Managing bond claims: assessing and, where appropriate, disputing and/or negotiating settlement.

Our lawyers

Our core surety legal team have over 60 years’ collective experience representing sureties, domestically and abroad, both putting the deal together and dealing with claims.

Our experience

We have years of experience advising sureties on a wide range of matters and in a variety of sectors. We will be able to help you. Recent examples of our experience include:

Carillion collapse: Negotiating and settling multiple bond claims following insolvency of the Carillion Group.
University student accommodation project: Acted for issuers of adjudication and retention bonds.
Pension Bond: Acted for issuers of pension bonds in excess of £120 million for a FTSE 100 company.
French shipbuilder: Acted for multi-surety panels on advance payment refund guarantee programmes (in aggregate €1 billion+) to support the construction of a series of cruise vessels in France.
Payment Services Regulations: Working with a payment institution, developed a form of surety bond meeting the requirements of the Payment Services Regulations 2017.
Successfully settled a disputed performance bond claim in excess of US $65 million relating to a LNG plant in South America.
Negotiating terms of surety participation in bank guarantee programme re statutory workers compensation obligations.
Drafting facility/indemnity documentation for recent entrants to UK surety market.

Our clients

Our clients include:

American International Group UK Limited
Aspen Insurance UK Limited
Chubb European Group SE
Euler Hermes SA (NV)
HCC International Insurance Company plc
Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe SE
Markel International Insurance Company Limited
Swiss Re International SE
Travelers Insurance Company Limited
Zurich Insurance plc

Legal resources you may find useful

Construction and engineering blog - regular updates and commentary on the latest legal news affecting anyone working in the construction and engineering industry.
Procurement Portal - a "one stop shop" for procurement law queries and advice.