A&O Shearman‘s large team is able to comprehensively serve a client roster encompassing leading banks and financial institutions, private equity funds, and corporate borrowers. Core strengths in finance transactions as well as in debt and equity capital markets work are underscored by financial regulatory expertise, enabling the group to handle a diverse range of domestic and cross-border matters, including complex project and acquisition financings, securitisations, bond issuances, as well as IPOs and capital raisings. Sustainability projects and real estate transactions are growing areas of focus for the practice, which advises on an increasing number of financings in the renewables space. Syndicated lending expert Yves Van Pul leads the team, which is also home to project and real estate finance expert Filip Tanghe. Sylvia Kierszenbaum is a key contact for financial regulatory matters and debt capital markets issues. Sophie Rutten‘s equity capital markets practice makes her a further name to note.

Linklaters continues to field a ‘standout team with deep knowledge of the market’ which acts for corporate and banking clients alike, handling matters ranging from debt and equity capital markets transactions to complex project and acquisition financings, as well as financial regulatory matters and distressed financings. The practice has a growing reputation for its ability to advise on sustainability-linked facilities and transactions, having assisted infrastructure and energy clients with green bond issuances and advised banks on their sustainability-linked loan programs. Practice head Arnaud Coibion is well-versed in handling financial transactions related to energy and infrastructure projects, while Charles-Antoine Leunen and Francis Wijnakker are particularly well-versed in investment-grade and leveraged financings. ESG experts Anne-Sophie Vankemmelbeke and David Ballegeer specialise in capital market transactions, as do Thierry L’Homme and Filip Lecoutre, who are particularly focused on handling IPOs.

Baker McKenzie CVBA/SCRL's banking and corporate finance practice is particularly well-regarded for its connections with corporate clients in the life sciences sector, who instruct the team to advise on high-value, cross-border acquisition financings, capital raising transactions, public offerings, and recapitalistation mandates. The team is also active for lender clients, working for standout banks such as ING and BNP Paribas Fortis on refinancing matters and a growing volume of sustainability-linked finance transactions. Institutional lending expert Michael Van Acker co-heads the practice with capital markets and corporate finance specialist Roel Meers following the departure of former practice head Antoine De Raeve in May 2023. Further key contacts in the team include Joren Janseunne, who was promoted to partner in July 2023 and chiefly advises on securitisations and financing matters.

The team at Clifford Chance is prolific in advising on financial and capital markets transactions in the energy, infrastructure, and industrials spaces, maintaining close relations with leading institutional and direct lenders as well as with major corporate borrowers such as VARO Energy and Traxys. Bolstered by cross-practice corporate and financial regulatory offerings, the group is capable of covering a wide range of debt finance matters, including high-value project financings, acquisition financings, and complexly structured sustainability-linked credit facilities. The expertise of Wim Aerts and Niek De Pauw furthermore allows the team to handle debt and equity capital markets matters, including IPOs and capital increases. De Pauw co-leads the practice with Lounia Czupper, an expert on bank lending and financial regulation. Bert De Maeyer left the team in March 2023.

The ‘highly capable and solutions-oriented‘ team at Loyens & Loeff stands out for the breadth of its debt finance and capital markets expertise, which covers domestic and cross-border transactions in a wide array of sectors and is particularly pronounced in project finance, debt and securities issuances, leveraged lending, and real estate financing work. The practice is especially noted for its ability to handle a significant number of financings in connection with renewable energy and infrastructure PPPs. Clients include Belgian-based and multinational institutional lenders as well as private credit funds, corporate borrowers, and state actors. Practice head Marc Vermylen is noted for his project finance expertise, while Vanessa Marquette and Eveline Hellebuyck primarily handle financial regulatory matters. Koen Panis is a key contact for PPP work. Asset-based lending and green bond issuance expert Sarah Libregts is a further name to note.

Stibbe remains highly active across the full spectrum of debt finance matters, with a team that is capable of handling leveraged private equity financings and real estate finance while maintaining a particularly strong focus on assisting both lenders and borrowers with financings for projects and joint ventures in the energy and infrastructure space. Debt capital markets and securitisation expert Pieter Nobels further extends the practice's offering by enabling it to advise private and institutional lenders on cross-border bond issuances and uptierings. Wouter Ghijsels leads the team and is a key contacted for both syndicated and direct lending, especially in the context of acquisition and project finance. Pieter-Jan Leemen is also highly recommended for syndicated lending matters.

White & Case LLP‘s team is very well-regarded for its ability to hand cross-border leveraged finance work, regularly collaborating with the firm’s global offices to advise both borrowers and lenders in connection with high-value acquisitions. As direct lenders increase their market presence in Belgium, the practice often advises global private capital funds on complex unitranche financings and holdco PIK financings. The team is also a popular destination for clients seeking advice on debt capital markets matters, with Willem Van De Wiele advising on bond issuances and private placements in addition to handling securitisation mandates. The practice is led by restructuring specialist Thierry Bosly. Leveraged financing expert and former co-head Hadrien Servais left the firm in July 2024.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton exhibits a strong focus on cross-border debt finance transactions, capital markets matters and financial regulatory questions, frequently working with the firm's transnational offices to jointly advise major corporate clients and international sovereign entities. The team has a strong focus on assisting African nations as borrowers with the arrangement of refinancing and project financing facilities, particularly in the context of sustainable development and infrastructure projects. Corporate borrowing is another key area of focus, with practice head Christophe Wauters serving as a key contact for negotiating multicurrency and international arrangements. Marijke Spooren is also highly recommended.

Real estate lending represents a cornerstone of the offering at CMS, which advises large Belgian, French and German banks as well as corporate and private equity borrowers in connection with high-value debt finance transactions. The team is also very active in the green financing space and handles a variety of debt capital markets matters as well as acquisition finance mandates. Financial regulatory matters are a further area of focus, with practice head Benoît Vandervelde advising several financial institutions and payment services providers on domestic compliance issues. Vandervelde is also a key contact for syndicated lending, as is real estate finance expert Bruno Duquesne.

DLA Piper‘s practice maintains strong debt finance, restructuring, and regulatory offerings, advising a large number of public and private borrowers as well as Belgian and international banks on matters ranging from securitisations and bond issuances to export, acquisition and project financing arrangements. The team is jointly led by Caroline Hoste, who has a particularly strong reputation for advising on energy and infrastructure PPP financings, and Pierre Berger, a regulatory expert whose experience encompasses fund formations as well as the compliance aspects of innovative banking projects. Orestis Omran maintains strong relations with Greek banking clients, while Sander Buysse stands out for his real estate finance expertise.

Eubelius is routinely instructed by both Benelux-based and international clients to advise on the debt finance transactions, handling borrower- and lender-side work in connection with high-value syndicated loan arrangements as well as with real estate, project, and acquisition financings. The team is also active in the debt capital markets space, advising particularly on green bond issuances, and the ECM-focused side of the practice is increasingly sought out by clients seeking assistance with IPOs. Lars Van Bever and Joris De Wolf handle the bulk of capital markets-related work and co-lead the practice together with M&A specialist Matthias Wauters and financing specialist Thomas Donnez.

Fieldfisher‘s team primarily advises on debt finance transactions, assisting private equity houses, institutional and direct lenders, and corporate clients with a large volume of domestic and cross-border leveraged financings as well as project financings in connection with major developments and PPP undertakings in the energy and infrastructure space. Real estate financings make up a further key area of expertise, as do distressed financings in the context of restructuring projects. The team is led by Sofie Heremans, whose experience spans a wide array of financing transactions. Further key contacts include PPP and energy lending expert Dennis Lievens as well as DCM specialist Dorothée Vanderhofstadt.

Hogan Lovells International LLP is noted for its securitisation expertise and its ‘in-depth knowledge of complicated financial transactions‘, allowing the team to advise large international banking clients as well as global corporate entities across a wide range of matters. The practice also actively advises clients on debt issuances and covered bond programs, and it is additionally capable of handling complex cross-border financings, including syndicated arrangements and mezzanine loans. Ivan Peeters, who takes the lead on securitisation work and is also a key contact for financial regulatory matters, co-leads the team with transactional finance expert Philip Van Steenwinkel. Regulatory expert Charles-Henri Bernard is also a key contact.

Close connections with the firm’s international offices enable the team at Jones Day to handle both domestic and cross-border financing matters. The group has close longstanding relations with major financial institutions and also serves a growing roster of corporate borrowers, with a particular reputation for advising on private equity-related acquisition financing matters as well as high-value debt issuances. Financial disputes and regulatory matters are also key areas of focus for the team, which is led by a consortium of experienced partners: Ferdinand Brughmans is a key contact for leveraged lending work, while Matthieu Duplat focuses on debt and equity capital markets, and Michèle Grégoire chiefly handles restructuring mandates.

Liedekerke advises on leveraged financings, assists with refinancing matters, and acts on bond issues and private placements for a client base composed primarily of Belgian banks and corporate clients. Real estate finance is a further area of focus for the team, which increasingly advises both borrowers and lenders on green bond issuances and sustainability-linked facilities. Corporate finance expert Damien Conem leads the practice together with Freya Mareels, a syndicated lending expert who advises on a wide array of debt finance transactions, and Wim Dedecker, who takes the lead on both debt and equity capital markets matters. Thomas Vanthournout is also highly recommended.

NautaDutilh is not only noted for its acquisition finance expertise, which allows the team to advise leading private equity funds as well as financial institutions on cross-border leveraged acquisitions, but also for its ability to assist infrastructure and real estate clients with the financing of significant PPP projects. Advice to underwriters and issuers in the context of equity offerings represents a further key area of focus for the practice, which is jointly led by project finance expert Thibaut Willems and capital markets specialist Nicolas de Crombrugghe. Nathalie Van Landuyt, who has syndicated and non-syndicated lending experience, is also recommended.

Van Bael & Bellis has continued to expand its presence in the corporate finance space, hiring Cedric Hauben and Charles Heinen from A&O Shearman as well as Caroline Daout from DLA Piper in late 2022, and advising a growing roster of institutional lenders and corporate borrowers on project financing matters. The team is well-equipped to assist with financings for PPP, energy, and infrastructure projects, and it also handles distressed financings as well as export credit facility arrangements. Johan Mouraux leads the practice and is noted for his expertise across project finance and restructuring matters.

ARGO Law is very active in acquisition finance, leveraging the firm's strong reputation in private equity matters to advise borrower-side funds as well as institutional lenders on a large volume of leveraged transactions. Refinancing is a further area of focus, and the team is additionally capable of advising on IPOs, public takeovers, and bond issuances. Nico Goossens is a key contact for capital markets work as well as public M&A matters and co-leads the team with Pieter Bogaerts, who focuses on private equity lending.

A ‘very knowledgeable team with a lot of transactional experience‘, Ashurst LLP focuses on distressed refinancings and debt restructurings as well as on bond issuances, with a particular focus on sustainable and cross-border finance. The practice acts for a large number of domestic and international clients on the borrower and lender side and is led by Arnaud Wtterwulghe, an experienced financing and restructuring expert who is also very qualified in advising on securities matters. Bram Delmotte is a further key name in the practice.

Deloitte Legal is very active on borrower-side debt finance work, advising corporate clients primarily in the real estate and automotive sectors on a wide variety of facilities and financing arrangements. The team is very active on sustainable finance matters as well as on project finance, and its capital markets expertise also enables it to handle a high volume of private placements. Financial regulatory issues represent a further area of focus, particularly for Laurent Godts, who co-leads the practice with transactional finance expert David Roelens.

Lydian is active across asset-based lending, trade and project finance, and acquisition financing, assisting both domestic and international banks as well as corporate borrowers with a series of high-value, often cross-border arrangements. The team maintains particularly strong connections with UK and US-based clients and partners, enabling it to handle the domestic aspects of major multijurisdictional facility agreements. Tom Geudens leads the team and has a 'unique position and understanding of cross-border finance transactions'.

Since the inception of the practice in 2022, Simmons & Simmons advises a growing base of lenders and borrowers on a wide variety of debt finance transactions, handling acquisition and trade financings in addition to advising on securitisation transactions. Under the leadership of experienced acquisition finance expert Eric Blomme, the team is capable of assisting with complex financing structures, including mezzanine facilities, and also stands out for its cross-border work. Securitisation expert Martin Carlier and leveraged finance specialist Cécile Odeurs are further key contacts.

ALTIUS‘ team is jointly led by corporate finance expert Jérôme Vermeylen and regulatory specialist Audrey Zegers, who together advise a roster of institutional lenders as well as corporate borrowers and investment funds on financial and payments regulations, acquisition financings, syndicated lending, and bond issuances. The team has a particular focus on assisting international clients with Belgian regulatory aspects of market entries, restructurings, and leveraged transactions.

The team at Harvest Business Law Firm primarily advises corporate borrowers, venture capital funds, and start-ups on corporate finance matters, with a heavy focus on the tech sector, and is capable of assisting with capital raising matters as well as syndicated lending. The team is led by fundraising and capital markets expert Adrien Lanotte, who is noted for his relations with tech investors and his knowledge of early-stage financing matters.

A consortium of lawyers around financial regulatory expert Jean-Pierre Buyle and banking litigation specialist André-Pierre André-Dumont arrived in April 2023 to strengthen the practice at Monard law, joined by Buyle, which now handles a wide array of financial disputes in addition to providing continued advice to borrowers and lenders in connection with project and real estate financings for PPPs. André-Dumont and Buyle lead the practice together with governance and litigation expert Jeroen Raskin and debt finance expert Stefaan Van Dyck.

Strelia maintains an integrated financial law offering that encompasses transactional, regulatory, restructuring, and litigation elements, with a particular focus on guiding financial institutions and corporate borrowers through acquisition financing arrangements. Refinancings and distressed financings are also key areas of focus for the team, which is led by domestic and cross-border financing expert Frédéric Heremans.