Senior maritime player Matt Hannaford is leaving Clyde & Co’s transport finance group with a team of three to join specialist shipping boutique Curtis Davis Garrard (CDG).
The commercial shipping partner, who is particularly recognised for his work in ship finance, will join CDG alongside legal director Owen McHugh, who will join CDG as a partner.
Clifford Chance-trained, Hannaford joined Clyde’s transportation finance group in 1995 as a partner, and became a member of the firm’s operations board and the training principal for its recruitment services.
Confirming Hannaford’s departure, Clyde & Co said: ‘We retain a strong team to service our clients’ ship finance needs and are actively recruiting further partners to it. We expect to make an announcement shortly.’
The hire comes as CDG also focuses on growing its ship finance practice – an area the firm has planned to develop since launching in London in February last year. Historically, the firm has focused on the shipbuilding and offshore oil and gas sectors.
CDG senior partner Simon Curtis said: ‘We came to London to grow our shipping finance practice based on increasing client demand. Matt is very well-known in the maritime industry. He comes from a commercial shipping and finance background, but has also done a lot of work on the private equity side.’