Sarsha Housham
She/herSpecial CounselSarsha has over 20 years’ experience advising international and domestic banks, other financial institutions, and obligor groups. Her practice focuses on debt financing including real estate (acquisition, investment and development), corporate and venture debt financing businesses in the accommodation, tourism and hospitality sector.
As a senior lead lawyer, Sarsha manages all aspects of a transaction from deal structuring to due diligence through to drafting, reviewing, negotiating and settling documentation, coordinating CPs and financial close. She provides concise and considered advice, whilst taking account of the commercial realities of a particular transaction.
Sarsha recently completed a secondment with the legal team at HSBC Bank Australia (May to December 2023). As legal counsel Sarsha advised stakeholders across the business locally and internationally in relation to real estate, corporate and venture debt financings including ESG and related policy considerations.
Sarsha is qualified to practice in both New Zealand and Australia and has provided invaluable insights to clients on Trans-Tasman transactions.
EXPERIENCE
- Advising the asset manager of various REIT on multiple real estate investment and development financings, predominantly in the industrial and logistics sector throughout eastern Australia.
- Advising an international private equity real estate firm which focuses on logistics real estate assets, with their first secured bilateral Australian development and investment facilities, being provided by a domestic bank, in relation to 4 logistics / industrial real estate assets in Victoria each held by different professional services trustees under a REIT (a detailed / complex international trust structure for both its financing and how its assets are held).
- Advising a developer group in connection with the senior and mezzanine financing of a mixed use residential, retail and commercial development in Western Australia comprising 4 multilevel buildings.
- Advising a bank on the development financing of a 346 bed student accommodation facility and a 500 bed student accommodation facility both located in Victoria.
- Advising a private financier in relation to the financing of luxury lodges in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
- Advising a consortium on their ongoing syndicated debt facility requirements in relation to the operation of one of the largest dairy businesses in Australia, which is operated across several states.
- Advising on the acquisition financings of data centres located in New South Wales and South Australia.
- Advising the borrower group on the Australian aspects of the +USD500m global financing and debt restructure of its aircraft business.
- Advising an international bank on the Australian aspect of a secured working capital and related facilities in excess of USD100m for a borrower group with a large mining presence in Australia.
- Advising an offshore specialist venture debt bank on the Australia aspects in connection with an AUD100m financing of satellite business operated out of Australia.
- The University of Auckland, Bachelor of Laws, 2003
- The University of Auckland, Bachelor of Arts, 2003
