Ben Cockerill
PARTNER
0423 290 287
With over 25 years professional experience working at national and international law firms, I specialise in advising in relation to debt financing with a focus on corporate and acquisition financing, property and construction financing, and debt reconstruction matters. I am consistently ranked as a leading finance lawyer by Best Lawyers in Melbourne and Perth.
My clients know me as easy-going and attuned to the importance of delivering a commercial, timely and cost-efficient service. I am always focused on getting the deal done while appropriately addressing risk for my clients.
Relevant Experience
Corporate and acquisition finance
Ben advises public companies, as well as a number of private clients, in relation to their corporate and acquisition finance needs. He is familiar with the products and requirements of the major banks operating in Australia. He is able to provide a full range of services, from preparing and negotiating borrower led documentation to assisting with the review of bank standard documentation. He will often work alongside his client’s other advisers on acquisition finance matters up to the point of financial close, advising on financial assistance issues and the satisfaction of first draw conditions precedent, ensuring the acquisition finance is available when required.
Property and construction finance
Ben acts for major developers in relation to their financing needs, including property acquisition facilities, construction and development finance and financing vacant land subdivision projects. Ben has also acted for each of the major Australian banks for many years and, with the rise of private debt, various funds, providing senior and mezzanine finance to projects across Australia.
Debt reconstruction
Over the past 25 years, Ben has advised clients through various challenging points in economic cycles. He understands how financiers behave in these scenarios, having acted in relation to a number of significant debt reconstruction matters. Those matters have included standstill and forbearance arrangements, refinancings and broader debt restructuring. More recently, these matters have been property related, involving distressed developers and insolvent builders. He is able to work constructively with existing creditors and incoming financiers to facilitate successful outcomes.