David Paterson

David Paterson’s practice in primarily focused on aviation finance and transportation finance.

Based in Singapore, he represents financiers, alternative lenders, investors, equity investors, funds, leasing companies and export credit agencies across aircraft-backed international finance and leasing transactions throughout the Asia-Pacific region and globally.

David assists clients in structuring, documenting and facilitating complex aviation transactions, including asset acquisitions and disposals, portfolio financing, and airline and leasing company restructurings. His experience spans leveraged debt, capital markets, and specialized leasing transactions, including pre-delivery financings, Japanese operating leases (JOLs and JOLCOs), French tax leases, Islamic financings, export credit agency-backed products and spin-off supported financings such as Balthazar, AFIC, and ITASCA structures.

Known for his commercial approach and strategic problem-solving, David excels at bringing parties together to find practical solutions that meet clients' objectives. Implementing a hands-on and highly responsive approach, he works to understand each client’s business needs and provides actionable recommendations that focus on commercial impact rather than simply theoretical legal positions. He previously worked in London with Clifford Chance and Milbank and has been seconded to a market leading leasing company and with this background brings deep international experience and unrivalled transactional nous to his practice within the APAC market.

Whilst David works daily on complex portfolio financings, structured financings, finance leasing arrangements and portfolio trading deals, he is also credited with having worked on a number of standout transactions during his time in London and more recently in Singapore. During COVID, David acted for a number of lenders and financiers as he represented the JOLCO and JOL lenders during the first ever Part 21 Scheme of Arrangement relating to Virgin Atlantic and subsequently acted for all of Malayisan Airlines’ creditors during its Scheme of Arrangement. He was later involved in restructurings relating to Garuda, Norwegian and Nordic Aviation Capital. David also has recent M&A experience assisting SMBC with its acquisition of Goshawak and was previously involved with the sale of GECAS to AerCap. Within the APAC market, David acted for the equity investors on the first three (3) JOLCO financings undertaken by Singapore Airlines and last year acted for the investors as Air Asia took to the capital markets to issue its unique revenue bond to raise fresh capital and settle lease arrears.