Amanda Wales is a partner in Freehills’ Banking & Finance practice. Amanda has experience in a broad range of banking & finance transactions and currently specialises in structured asset finance and property finance.

Structured asset finance

Amanda has broad experience in structured asset finance, including advising:

• Virgin Blue Airlines in relation to debt and leasing transactions for more than 40 aircraft
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia in relation to various leveraged finance and operating leases, including of mining equipment for Leighton Holdings and Felix Resources, merchant vessels for Toll Holdings and rolling stock for the Hillside, Bayside and Swanston rail franchises in Victoria
• ABN AMRO Australia in relation to a $50 million operating lease of personal digital recorders
• Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited in relation to finance lease and hire purchase facilities for the financing of the fitout of the headquarters of Holden Limited by James Fielding Developments Pty Limited
• Mariner Bridge Investments in relation to its acquisition of various interests in aircraft and merchant vessels
• Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited in relation to a $10 million finance lease of television production and broadcasting assets
• WestLB and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in relation to the financing of pre-delivery payments for 11 Boeing 737 aircraft

Property, construction and project finance

Amanda has broad experience in transactions involving property, construction and project finance including acting for:

• various bank syndicates over a nine year period in relation to successive refinancings of the hotel portfolio of Tourism Asset Holdings Limited, involving security over more than 40 properties around Australia and New Zealand
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia and The Royal Bank of Scotland in relation to the debt financing of the Long Bay Forensic and Prison Hospitals PPP
• a syndicate of banks in relation to the refinancing of $452 million CMBS notes for the Cromwell Diversified Property Trust, involving security over 21 properties around Australia
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia in relation to a $225 million capex facility to Westralia Airports Corporation
• WestLB in relation to the $32.5 million secured refinancing of Lilianfels Blue Mountains and The Observatory Hotel
• Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited in relation to the secured financing of the acquisition of property at Palm Cove, Queensland
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia in relation to the secured financing of the acquisition of property at Mango Hill, Queensland
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia in relation to the $147.5 million secured refinancing of the ANA Hotel (now the Shangri-La Hotel) in Sydney
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia in relation to the secured financing of various properties of Trafalgar Managed Investments and the Rebel property group

Amanda holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Physiotherapy) from Cumberland College of Health Sciences, a Master of Education from the University of New South Wales and a Diploma of Law from the Legal Practitioners Admission Board. Amanda was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in December 1999.