Sam Hamilton

SAM HAMILTON is a global co-leader of the firm’s Leveraged Finance practice. He has more than 20 years’ experience working on a broad range of complex leveraged finance transactions. He has particular experience advising private equity sponsors across a range of finance products.

Sam has been involved in a significant number of market defining transactions and his broad, multi-product, experience has seen him help structure numerous cutting edge “first of their kind” financings.

Sam is consistently recognized for his work by numerous industry ranking guides, including most recently:

• Financial News – Fifty Most Influential Lawyers 2025.
• Private Equity News – Twenty Most Influential Private Equity Lawyers 2025.
• Chambers Europe and Chambers UK 2025 – Ranked for Banking & Finance: Big-Ticket where clients note that “He has vast experience and commercial awareness.”
• Legal 500 UK 2025 – Recognized in the “Hall of Fame” for Acquisition Finance.
  
• Legal 500 UK 2024 – Recognized in the “Hall of Fame” for Acquisition Finance.
• Chambers UK 2024 – Ranked for Banking and Finance: Big-Ticket where clients note that “Sam is technically skilled and always available to discuss and give proper advice. He also thinks about aspects outside of the financing world - implications on the client, implications on the deal and the deal dynamics; he covers all areas. He is a super good financing lawyer.”
• Chambers Europe 2024 – Ranked for Banking and Finance – UK where sources say that “Sam is very impressive; he has a deep understanding of the leveraged finance market and is pragmatic and adept at understanding what the real issues are to getting the deal done.”
• Chambers Europe 2023 – Ranked for Banking and Finance – UK where he is praised as “both brilliant and a critical thinker.”
• Chambers UK 2021 – Ranked for Banking and Finance – “One of the brightest lights in sponsor-side finance, providing cutting-edge advice and winning his clients the very best terms in the market.”
• Legal 500 UK 2021 – “He is one of the smartest and most effective and commercial lawyers in London and should be regarded as his generation's market-leading finance lawyer.”
  
   

Recent examples of Sam’s work include advising:

Unitranche Debt

• Autocirc AB on the refinancing of its capital structure.
• Sortera Group AB, an environmental contractor and waste management company, on its acquisition.
• Trustly AB, a Swedish fintech company, on its €700 million acquisition.
• Consilium, a world leading producer of safety technologies, on its SEK3 billion acquisition.
• Soho House, an international private members’ club, in relation to its bank and bond facilities.
• Ober Scharrer Gruppe, a leading healthcare provider headquartered in Germany, on its €330 million acquisition.

Term Loan B Debt

• ADVANZ PHARMA, a Nordic Capital portfolio company, in connection with the issuance of €917 million (equivalent) in new euro- and pound sterling-denominated senior secured notes and the borrowing of a €165 million term loan B facility.
• Alloheim in relation to its amend-and-extend agreement.
• The Cupa Group, a leader in the natural slate and stone industry, on a sustainability linked TLB financing in connection with its acquisition from The Carlyle Group.
• ADVANZ PHARMA, a specialty pharmaceutical company, on its US$846 million acquisition.
• GHD, a market-leading homecare provider headquartered in Germany, on its €440 million refinancing.
• Sunrise Medical, a leading mobility business, on its €450 million acquisition.
• The Binding Site Group, a leading life sciences company providing specialist diagnostic products, on its US$435 million refinancing.
• Itiviti, a provider of capital markets software for banks and trading firms, on its US$590 million acquisition.
• Alloheim Group, a private German care services provider, on its €1.1 billion acquisition.
• ConvaTec, an Anglo-American medical products and technologies company, on its acquisition, post-IPO financing, and refinancings. 
• Unilabs, a leading international provider of diagnostic services, on its €835 million refinancing.
• ULLINK, a global multi-asset trading technology software provider, on its US$650 million acquisition and refinancing.
• CPA Global, a leading intellectual property management and technology company, on its cross border £2.4 billion acquisition and subsequent US$6.8 billion combination with Clarivate, an analytics company.

High-Yield Debt

• ADVANZ PHARMA, a specialty pharmaceutical company, on its US$846 million acquisition.
• Lindorff Group, a company providing debt-related administration services, on its US$3.2 billion acquisition.
• ConvaTec, an Anglo-American medical products and technologies company, on its acquisition, post-IPO financing, and refinancings.
• Unilabs, a leading international provider of diagnostic services, on its €835 million refinancing.
• Soho House, an international private members’ club, on its bank and bond facilities.

Restructuring and Special Situations

• Britax Group, UK-headquartered child seat, pushchair, and bike seat manufacturer and distributer, on its US$380 million debt and equity restructuring.
• Luvata, a leading metal solution manufacturing, heat transfer technology and engineering services company, on its €700 million restructuring.
• The Carlyle Group in connection with financing matters relating to its investment in Brintons Carpets, a global manufacturer of specialist woven carpets.

Fund Structuring

• Ares/GE Unitranche Fund, on the creation of the European Senior Secured Loan Program, a €2.2 billion joint venture between GE Corporate Finance Bank and Ares Capital Europe, providing “unitranche” private debt facilities in the European mid-market.
• SoftBank Vision Fund, venture capital fund, on its levelled fund structure
• Nordic Capital CV1, on the inter fund acquisition by CV1 of Fund VII.
• Lindorff Group, a company providing debt-related administration services, on the creation of a €700 million non-performing loan co-investment program with CarVal Investors and AlbaCore Capital.

Public-to-Private Financings

• Nordic Capital in connection with the financing of its acquisition of Anaqua, the leading provider of innovation and intellectual property management technology solutions and services.
• ADVANZ PHARMA, a specialty pharmaceutical company, on its US$846 million acquisition.
• Intrum Justitia, a leading credit management company, on its bank and bond refinancing.
• ConvaTec, an Anglo-American medical products and technologies company, on its acquisition, post-IPO financing, and refinancings.
• R&R Ice Cream plc, an ice cream and frozen confectionery worldwide producer, on term loans and revolving credit facility. 

Post-IPO Financings

• ConvaTec, an Anglo-American medical products and technologies company, on its  acquisition, post-IPO financing, and refinancings.
• J.P. Morgan Securities in relation to an up to €750 million holdco PIK financing for Sazka Group’s tender offer for OPAP, a Greek lottery and gaming operator.
• Acino, a Swiss-based pharmaceutical company, on a US$200 million carve out transaction involving various pharmaceutical products and related assets from Takeda.
• Intrum Justitia, a leading credit management company, on its €1.1 billion revolving credit facility.

Some of the above matters were handled prior to joining Sidley.