George Fieldhouse becomes Grant Thornton debt advisory leader
With demand for debt advisory services still rising in the UK, Grant Thornton has appointed George Fieldhouse to lead its corporate finance debt advisory practice. Fieldhouse brings 16 years of experience to the firm.
Speaking on his new role, George Fieldhouse noted, “Joining Grant Thornton and leading the corporate finance debt advisory team is an exciting next step for me. I have great respect for the success the team has achieved to date and am thrilled to be part of the next phase of growth.”
Over his career, Fieldhouse has advised on over £5 billion of debt capital to support leverage buyouts, growth capital, refinancings, recapitalisations and debt renegotiations and restructurings. He has significant experience across the spectrum of debt products, including private debt and corporate bank debt and has worked for borrowers in the UK, across Europe and in the US.
Debt markets enjoyed another record-setting year in 2021, fuelled by fiscal stimulus, historically low interest rates, opportunistic re-financings and a boom in M&A and buyout deals. In the US for example, both the high-yield bond and leveraged-loan markets set all-time issuance records and combined to shatter 2017’s leveraged-finance record. As floating-rate debt and borrowers continue to fund M&A and buyouts, corporate finance debt advisory services can expect high demand in 2022.
Grant Thornton is focused on working closely with businesses and clients amid what has become a complex, dynamic debt capital market. As Head of Grant Thornton’s Corporate Finance Debt Advisory team, Fieldhouse will lead the growth of the practice with market facing responsibility including executing deals, driving business development and accelerating the firm’s presence across London and UK wide.
Commenting on the appointment, Keely Woodley, Head of Corporate Finance at Grant Thornton UK, said, “I am thrilled to welcome George to our team to lead and develop our national Debt Advisory offering. George brings extensive knowledge of the funding landscape and a wealth of private equity sponsors and corporate relationships. His appointment builds on the outstanding breadth and depth of expertise within our Corporate Finance team, and we look forward to delivering further growth and diversification in our service offering and sector coverage.”