Buchanan
Leveraged Finance Associate
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Leveraged Finance Associate (2–5 PQE)
Location: London
Practice: Debt Finance / Leveraged Finance (Financial Sponsor)
Level: 2–5 PQE
The Opportunity
This is a brand new role and it sits within a compact but high-calibre Leveraged Finance practice, part of a broader debt finance offering that's regarded internationally as one of the strongest in the market, having built its reputation over decades advising on some of the largest and most complex leveraged acquisition and infrastructure financings globally.
The team is genuinely lean only three or four partners and a couple of junior associates currently in place which means this hire will sit close to the action from day one rather than being one of many junior faces in a larger group. It's led by a partner with more than twenty years in leveraged finance, who joined relatively recently from another major international firm where he co-headed the financial sponsor leveraged finance practice, and who has a track record of working on genuine market "firsts" in the loan market from syndicated cov-lite term loan B structures through to unitranche and covenanted maintenance facilities. The practice acts for a strong roster of private equity and infrastructure funds, corporates, family offices, and sovereign wealth funds on acquisition, infrastructure, and other event-driven financings, so the deal flow here is genuinely sponsor-heavy and high-value rather than incidental lending work.
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What They're Looking For
The PQE range is a firm 2–5, with no real flexibility either side. Beyond that, the team is looking for:
- Training and qualification at a Magic Circle or Elite US firm, with some flexibility for genuinely strong candidates trained internationally
- Solid, hands-on leveraged finance / debt finance transactional experience
- A common law background is entirely acceptable, provided the underlying experience is right the team is not looking to consider in-house candidates for this particular hire
Compensation is banded clearly by PQE:
- NQ: £165,000
- 3 PQE: £191,000
- 4 PQE: £226,500
- 5 PQE: £266,500
There's no fixed target hours, though the expectation sits around 1,800. The bonus structure builds meaningfully from there: a base bonus of roughly 10%, rising to a bonus around 50% larger for those between 1,800 and 2,000 hours, and doubling again for anyone above 2,000 hours so there's genuine, tangible upside for associates who are busy and want to lean into it.
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Why Join This Practice & Interview Process
Newer partners have visibly reinvigorated the team, and the culture that's come with that is genuinely collaborative rather than hierarchical.
The office itself has no fixed seating plan, with people spread across four floors and mixed in together rather than siloed by team or seniority, and there's a strong social side to life here regular dinners, drinks, and a collegiate atmosphere that associates consistently mention. It's also worth noting that business support staff are treated as genuinely valued members of the team here, not sidelined a detail candidates coming from more hierarchical environments tend to notice and appreciate.
The process runs across three stages: an initial meeting with the hiring partner and HR, a second stage with two further partners, and a final stage meeting members of the associate team.
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