George Havaris, of Canadian/Greek background, is a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales. He is a corporate and banking lawyer with a broad experience of working on cross-border M&A and financing transactions. George heads our English Law Desk and is also a recognised lawyer in the emerging Polish cannabis industry.

Prior to moving to Poland, George worked at Linklaters LLP in London where he worked in the Corporate and Banking departments (and was awarded international secondments to the Linklaters Warsaw and Moscow offices).

Corporate & M&A | Private Equity | Venture Capital 

George has represented domestic and international clients regarding their cross-border M&A activity. He advises corporates, private equity sponsors, venture capital funds and strategic investors on M&A (private and public) deals. He often leads and coordinates transactions across CEE and emerging Europe.

Finance | Financial Services & Insurance 

George also advises lenders and borrowers on secured and unsecured investment grade, leveraged and emerging market financings (syndicated, club and bilateral loans), mezzanine as well as debt restructurings.

• Advising TDJ Pitango Ventures Sp. z o.o. as lead investor on a USD 4 million investment into CallPage, a Poland-based system enabling direct contact with a potential client within 28 seconds. This was one of the biggest venture investment rounds in CEE in 2018.
• Advising Aasa Global AS, a leading Scandinavian/Baltic on-line consumer loan provider, in connection with a EUR 30 million equity investment by Novator Partners and Olympia Group (involving a cross-border restructuring and creation of a capital group involving Poland, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Estonia and Slovakia).
• Advising AASA Polska S.A. on a EUR 15 million loan from Mezzanine Management.
• Advising Polish and Romanian online travel agency Interactive Travel Holdings Sp. z o.o. in connection with a EUR 5 million investment from 3TS Capital Partners.
• Advising a UK borrower and its Polish subsidiary on an up to EUR 30 million cross-border secured term loan facility agreement with a US based financial institution.
• Advising Alfabeat ALFA Sp. z o o. SKA on its investment in Recruitment Smart Technologies Ltd., a London based company that utilises artificial intelligence for recruitment purposes (i.e. using machine learning to match CVs and job specifications at blinding speed and with stunning accuracy).
• Advising Alfabeat ALFA Sp. z o o. SKA on its investment in PromoRepublic Oy, a Finnish based company that operates a social media marketing platform utilising artificial intelligence to manage multiple accounts for small businesses, agencies and freelancers.
• Advising LATAM Fintech Holding OU on a transaction involving an investment by Estonian entities in its portfolio company (involved in online consumer lending) located in Brazil.
• Advising a large UK based multinational oil and gas company on a USD 4.5 billion pre-export financing of oil from Angola and Azerbaijan (awarded Emerging EMEA Loan (Deal) of the Year 2010 by IFR (International Financing Review).*
• Advising the arrangers on a USD 1.2 billion multi-currency revolving and swingline facility agreement for an Irish based pharmaceutical company.*
• Advising Caffé Nero on a GBP 1.4 billion refinancing.*
• Advising the senior lenders on the EUR 12 billion restructuring of a large German manufacturer of ball bearings.*
• Advising the arrangers on a USD 2.3 billion term loan facility agreement for a state owned Russian bank.*
• Advising for the senior lenders on a multi-jurisdictional security uptake in relation to a senior secured revolving facility agreement for a large UK based multinational oil and gas well management company.*
• Advising for the lenders on a multi-currency revolving facility agreement for a Swiss based biopharmaceutical company.*
• Acting for the lenders on the restructuring of mid cap sponsor-backed leveraged facilities agreement for an English based fashion retailer.*
• Advising US VC fund Learn Capital on its USD 80 million Series D investment in Polish founded online learning platform Brainly.
• Advising Proteon Pharmaceuticals on a strategic partnership with Skretting.
• *Advice provided at a previous law firm