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:

• Chambers UK 2026 – Ranked for Banking & Finance: Big-Ticket where clients note that “His depth and breadth of experience make him one of the leading practitioners in the market,” and “He is extremely commercial and is always calm in a crisis.”
• Legal 500 UK 2024 - 2026 – Recognized in the “Hall of Fame” for Acquisition Finance, and recommended in the 2026 edition for Property Finance.
• 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.”
• 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.