Rachael joined Bermans in May 2023 and is an Associate in our Asset Based Lending team in Manchester.
Rachael graduated with a First Class Law Degree from Sheffield Hallam University in 2015. Following this, she attended BPP Law School, where she obtained a Distinction in the Legal Practice Course. She then qualified as a Solicitor in 2020.
She is experienced in general corporate finance, invoice finance, asset-based lending and asset finance.
Outside of work, Rachael enjoys travelling, going on walks in the Lake District and spending time with friends.
There are a few very few cases in the law reports dealing specifically with factoring or invoice discounting, so we always pay particular attention to those that are reported, and in this respect it is worth reflecting upon the recent decision of the High Court in Elevar Finance SPV Photon LLC v Mr Sabesan Somasundaram [2023] EWHC 151(Ch).
The Industry Working Group on Electronic Execution of Documents set up by the Government in response to the 2019 Law Commission Report has published its final report.
There has been understandable focus recently on the question of virtual witnessing of documents such as Deeds of Guarantee which require the presence of a witness, a topic dealt with in our last Briefing and to which we will return later in this one. It is important however to remember that the vast majority of Deeds are still executed by wet signatures and in this regard there has been an important recent decision of the High court favourable to financiers.
Jenny Chapman is a Solicitor in the Asset Based Lending team, based in Manchester.
Jenny joined Bermans in April 2023 in the Asset Based Lending team and qualified as a Solicitor in March 2026. She graduated from the University of Liverpool with a Law degree in 2021 and completed the LPC with a Business and Management MSc in 2022.
Jenny specialises in asset-based lending, acting for a range of financiers on invoice finance and asset-based lending transactions, including refinancings, acquisitions and restructurings, as well as broader corporate finance matters. She regularly supports clients on time-sensitive transactions, with a focus on keeping deals progressing efficiently.
Jenny also supports asset finance clients, including the drafting, review and development of documentation suites.
Outside of work, Jenny enjoys running and skiing, and regularly competes in Hyrox events.
In our autumn 2019 Briefing we welcomed the Law Commission’s final report on Electronic Execution of Documents and set out our views on certain practical matters including the crucial question of whether those documents requiring attestation of the primary signature by a witness necessitated the physical presence of the witness at the point of signature.
Our summary of the requirements for formalities of contracts likely to be encountered by invoice financiers referred to above also explains the circumstances in which certain contracts executed as deeds require formalities such as in some cases the presence of a witness.
As the era of unusually low interest rates comes to a close, it is worth paying attention to what rate of interest the courts are likely to allow in relation to successful financial claims.
Statue provides that in general terms once judgment has been granted in the English courts, interest of 8% per annum will be awarded on the judgment sum until it is paid.
Financiers have been, together with almost all other litigants, subject to what seems to be an ever-increasing spiral of expense in navigating the various fees and charges payable under the court system, a trend which is been in place now for almost 2 decades.
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