S&C's private capital push continues with Weil double hire

Sullivan & Cromwell has continued its high-profile London expansion with the hire of two senior leveraged finance partners from Weil, adding further weight to its private capital push in the City.

Chris McLaughlin and Alastair McVeigh will join S&C’s London office as partners, bolstering its sponsor-side leveraged finance and European private credit offering respectively. The hires are the latest signal that the New York firm is serious about building a full-spectrum private capital platform in London.

McLaughlin is a top-ranked leveraged finance lawyer with a strong sponsor focus, advising on acquisition and leveraged finance deals for clients including Brookfield, Apax and Inflexion. He will lead S&C’s private equity sponsor and borrower acquisition, and leveraged finance practices in London.

McVeigh is best known for lender-side work, particularly in the booming private credit market, with experience acting for Ares and Goldman Sachs’ asset management arm, alongside multiple secondments to Goldman. He will lead S&C’s European private credit practice.

The raid on Weil follows the arrival at S&C last September of Mike Francies, Weil’s long-time former London managing partner, who is now part of the firm’s M&A and private equity groups.

London co-heads Kon Asimacopoulos and John Horsfield-Bradbury said the pair’s arrival was "a major step in the execution of our private capital strategy in London."

London momentum

The moves slot into one of the City’s most significant US firm build-outs. S&C has been steadily expanding its London office with a clear focus on private capital.

After a flurry of hires at the back end of last year, the firm also brought in senior finance lawyer Patrick Clancy earlier this month, a long-time Shearman & Sterling partner, adding depth to its structured products and derivatives capability.