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Legal Assistant:  Pat Chick

Direct:  +1 604-684-2550 ext. 238

Email:   [safe_email]pchick@bridgehouselaw.ca[/safe_email]

 

 

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Practice Areas

Neal’s practice focuses principally on lending and secured finance transactions in Western Canada. He has extensive experience representing and advising major corporate borrowers, as well as institutional and private lenders at all market levels – this includes Canadian chartered banks and credit unions, significant U.S. based financial institutions and many other foreign lenders in various global financial centres and emerging markets.

Neal provides lender and borrower side advice in relation to a full range of financial products, including syndicated and bilateral lending transactions, general credit facilities for working capital, acquisition financing, project finance, construction finance, together with day-to-day finance and corporate matters. He has also worked to create and develop standard form lending documentation for both domestic and cross border lenders. Neal was one of the first lawyers in Canada to represent lenders on Canadian asset based lending transactions. With a specialty in cross border lending, he advises on the legal risks and hazards that face foreign lenders entering into a Canadian lending platform.

He has structured and negotiated credit facilities across a variety of market sectors including energy, real estate finance, mining, forestry, technology, aircraft and satellite, sports and entertainment, casino and gaming, restaurant and also retail.

Representative Client Work

Neal acts regularly for both lenders and borrowers on complex transactional work. A selection of previous client work includes:

CIBC

• Acted for CIBC on numerous financings and refinancings of the Keg Restaurants, advising a syndicate of lenders providing funding used to, among other things, build and renovate Keg restaurants across Canada and the US; and
• Acted for CIBC for the financing of Inland Kenworth, a significant dealer and lessor of trucks and heavy equipment. Representation of a syndicate of lenders on general financing and floor plan financings for the Inland group of companies.

BMO

• Financing of  major provider of proppant and other services to the oil and gas sector;
• Acted on funding Canadian and German based company that owns and operates satellites providing imagery services to government and the private sector; and
• Various real estate and construction financings for their Commercial Real Estate Group, most recently completing a financing of Fort McMurray hotel and retail commercial property.

RBC

• Has acted for Royal Bank of Canada’s asset based lending group in Calgary across all market sectors; and
• Acted for Royal Bank commercial financial services relating to various Alberta based oil and gas services companies.

HSBC

• Acted for HSBC Bank Canada relating to a number of Alberta based oil and gas services companies; and
• Acted for the HSBC Commercial Real Estate group in lending to the construction and development of various townhouse and condominium projects in Calgary and surrounding areas.

Wells Fargo

• Principal counsel on the $60 million financing by Wells Fargo Canada of Calgary, an Alberta based company which provides seismographic maps for the oil and gas sector.
• Acted for Wells Fargo (both their Canadian and US offices) on numerous transactions, including a $125,000,000 revolving credit facility provided by Wells Fargo to a leading distributor of technology retail products in North America;
• Represented Wells Fargo on many of the asset based lending deals on their initial foray into Canada using their US lending platform as well as their domestic Canadian platform, including development of Wells Fargo’s Canadian standard form lending documentation;

Other Lenders

• Various commercial real estate financing transactions for Canadian Western Bank in BC and Alberta.
• Acts for National Bank of Canada on commercial financings in the Vancouver market.
• Represented Macquarie Bank for a (i) $10 million bridge loan financing transaction and (ii) $60 million project facility, relating to the development of an African based gold mine;
• $20 million financing by Alberta Treasury Branches of major oil and gas exploration and production company;
• Acted for JPMorgan Chase Bank as agent on the syndicated $225,000,000 financing of company which operates as an independent wholesale distributor of building products for home construction and renovation applications in Canada and the United States;
• Acted for PNC Bank Canada Branch on a $28,000,000 credit facility extended to a burgeoning pharmacy chain based in Western Canada;
• Acquisition financing from a US private equity lender in favour of Nevada based Paragon for the purchase and sale of the Edgewater Casino located in the false creek area of downtown Vancouver; and

Borrower Representation

• Advised the Vancouver Canucks (together with the former Vancouver Grizzlies) organization on various day-to-day banking matters and negotiation of credit facilities relating to the team and Rogers Arena;
• Principal member of team representing Sierra Wireless (lead on acquisition financing portion), a leading provider of wireless technology, negotiating credit facilities with a syndicate of financial institutions in connection with the €80,500,000 acquisition financing for the purchase of France based Wavecom;
• Acted on a $1 billion capital and debt restructuring acting for a BC based forestry company;
• Acted as counsel for aircraft finance and other corporate matters for Rocky Mountain Aircraft;
• Acted for Husky Oil on a number of real estate finance matters for Husky Oil Limited, including financing and structuring of documentation for their service stations across Canada.

Speaking Engagements

Neal has spoken to various legal issues in the Financial Services community. Most recently:

• “Financial Assurances and Protections in Business Transactions”, December 2014, Insight Conferences;
• Chair, Panel Discussion, “Demystifying the Credit Application”, December 2014, Insight Conferences, with Wayne Fraser, RBC and Andrea McLane, RBC;
• “Financing Canadian, Cross-Border and International Business Deals”, January 2014, Insight Conferences; and
• “Successful Negotiating Strategies for Cross-Border Lending and Financing”, May 2007. The Canadian Institute, Western Forum on Commercial Loan Finance & Security.

Publications

• L’Expert recognized, Canadian Banking and Finance lawyer.
• British Columbia Personal Property Security Act Practice Manual, contributing author.

Education

• 1994, B.A. University of British Columbia
• 1998, LL.B, York University (Osgoode Hall Law School)
• 1999, called to British Columbia Bar
• 2013, called to Alberta Bar