Joe Snell
+44.20.7071.9936

Overview

Joseph P. Snell is a lawyer in Holland & Knight's London office and a member of the firm's Asset Finance Group. He provides representation for a breadth of clients on a range of asset-based financing and transactional matters in multiple and diverse jurisdictions.

Mr. Snell focuses his practice on all aspects of financing for aircraft and engines (pre- and post-delivery), as well as in the capital markets and sale-and-leasebacks, with strong experience in lending to a wide variety of borrower lessors. Mr. Snell is well versed in advising many of the leading international banks active in asset and project finance, other financial institutions and alternative lenders, as well as borrowers and lessees.

In addition, Mr. Snell assists leasing companies and lessees on day-to-day commercial leasing matters.

Mr. Snell has experience representing U.S. and United Kingdom investment funds in their acquisitions of special situation asset portfolios, from the initial pre-bidding diligence of the portfolio, setting up the structures to acquire and hold the assets, the transfer of the assets, the management of the assets during ownership through to the disposal of the assets (either individually or as a portfolio), as well as post-acquisition financing and securitization.

Mr. Snell edited the "Ship Life Cycle" chapter in Technical Ship Management and is one of the assessors for the diploma in technical ship management.

Mr. Snell is an active mentor to post-graduate students from the University of Law.

In 2020, Mr. Snell completed a one year client secondment in Singapore. In 2021, Mr. Snell also completed an eight-month (remote) client secondment based out of Dublin.

Representative Experience

  • Acted for a lender and agent in their US$90 million lending to a U.S. investment fund to purchase three A330s on lease to a European wet lease operator
  • Acted for a lender in their refinancing (from a bilateral facility to a syndicated facility) of a single aircraft US$62 million facility, release of existing security package and implementing revised security package
  • Acted for a lender and agent in their US$45.4 million lending to a fund for their acquisition of an A330 on lease to an Australian airline
  • Acted for a lender and agent in their US$44.7 million financing of three narrow-body aircraft on lease to a major U.S. airline
  • Acted for an incoming lender in the diligence and buy-in to a 88.2 million euros accordion facility for five EMS helicopters
  • Acted for a U.S. New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)-listed aircraft leasing company, as borrower, in their US$440 million financing and sale and leaseback on delivery to an Indian lessee of 11 A320neo aircraft at the point of delivery from the manufacturer
  • Acted for a lender and agent in the restructuring of eight separate bilateral facilities, with aircraft on lease to lessees based in the U.S., Mexico, Colombia and Brazil
  • Acted for Tokyo-listed aircraft leasing company in amendments to a US$192 million sale and leaseback facility, for four A320 family aircraft on lease to a Chilean lessee with interchange agreements to Brazilian, Peruvian, Colombian and Ecuadorian lessees
  • Acted for a U.S. investment fund in their borrowing and purchasing of 15 freighter aircraft, across eight different jurisdictions, into a US$125 million warehouse revolving credit facility, and subsequent sale and release into an asset-back securitization (ABS) structure
  • Acted for Tokyo-listed aircraft leasing company in amendments to US$240 million sale and leaseback facility, for five A321 aircraft on lease to a U.S. airline
  • Acted for an Irish aircraft leasing company in various ongoing lease and facility amendment and restatements, and lease amendments (relating to term, financial aspects, lessee defaults and aircraft/technical items)
  • Acted for a U.S. investment fund in their purchase of two freighter aircraft from a Russian seller
  • Acted for the servicer in an aircraft ABS transaction in a portfolio consisting of 29 narrow-body aircraft with respect to the sale, purchase and novation of the aircraft and leases
  • Acted for an Irish leasing company in their sale of five narrow-body aircraft (on lease to different lessees) and release of the aircraft from an ABS on delivery
  • Acted for a U.S. investment fund in their sublease purchase, headlease termination, lease novation and subsequent redelivery of the aircraft, lease termination and releasing of the engines

Credentials

Education
  • The University of Law Bristol, LPC
  • University of the West of England, LL.B., with honors
Bar Admissions/Licenses
  • England and Wales
Memberships
  • Worshipful Company of International Bankers
Honors & Awards
  • The Legal 500 United Kingdom, Transport Finance and Leasing, 2025
  • Global Airline Restructuring Deal of the Year, Airfinance Journal, 2022
  • Holland & Knight Pro Bono All-Star, 2021