Thomas Jemmett
Overview
Thomas Jemmett is a partner in the London office of Kirkland & Ellis International LLP. Thomas acts for corporate borrowers, hedge funds and financial institutions on restructuring, special situations and specialised lending matters across the capital structure and credit spectrum.
Thomas has been recognised as a key lawyer by The Legal 500 UK (2026), where clients describe him as “exceptional — pragmatic and strategic” and won “Corporate Restructuring Lawyer of the Year” at the TRI Awards (2024). He has further been recognised by Global Restructuring Review, who named him to its 2022 “40 Under 40” list of the world’s top young insolvency and restructuring professionals and by Chambers UK for London: Restructuring/Insolvency as an Up and Coming Lawyer (2026).
External Recognition
- The Legal 500 UK: Recognised as a Rising Lawyer for Finance: Corporate restructuring and insolvency (2025)
Experience
Representative Matters
Since joining Kirkland, Thomas’s representative matters include advising:
- Ardagh Group on the completion of a $6 billion recapitalization
- Certain investors in connection with the acquisition of the online retailer, Farfetch
- The investors in connection with The Very Group’s private placement of £598 million senior secured notes
- SVP-backed Klöckner Pentaplast on the successful uptier exchange of senior unsecured notes
- Strategic Value Partners and Pfleiderer to close a liability management transaction
- An ad hoc committee of creditors, including Strategic Value Partners, Cross Ocean and Deutsche Bank, on the successful $2.2 billion restructuring of the Intu SGS Group, implemented by way of UK scheme of arrangement
- Funds managed by AGG Capital Management Limited, a subsidiary of Arrow Global Group, on the strategic acquisition of a majority position in AFE S.A. SICAV-RAIF
- Flint Group on its €1.3 billion recapitalization
- Keter Group on its financial restructuring
- Pronovias on its financial restructuring
- Cimolai S.p.A. on its UK restructuring plan that was the first to be successfully sanctioned in parallel with a European ‘preventive restructuring’ process
- Hilding Anders in connection with its recapitalisation implemented via a UK scheme of arrangement
- An ad hoc group of the major financial creditors of the Steinhoff retail conglomerate on its restructuring via the first major international Dutch law restructuring plan
- AlbaCore Capital on the restructuring of Babylon Health
- Smile Telecoms group in relation to its ground-breaking restructuring plan which is the first and only plan to disenfranchise out-of-the-money creditors
- The Euro Garages Group (EG Group) in relation to its proposal to acquire the Caffé Nero group, subject to a Company Voluntary Arrangement
- An ad hoc group of bondholders on the restructuring of Olympic Entertainment Group
- Macquarie as sole lender in connection with the amendment and restatement of facilities provided to Basware Oyj as borrower
- PizzaExpress on its €1 billion restructuring by way of restructuring plan and CVA
- Noble, on its US$3.5 billion restructuring via parallel English and Bermuda schemes of arrangement
- The €2.6 billion convertible bond committee on the Steinhoff restructuring (and now acting for all financial creditors on the terms of the proposed settlement)
- The Galapagos group in relation to its highly contentious financial restructuring
Prior to joining Kirkland, Thomas’s representative matters included advising:
- Hibu
- on a refinancing of its cash pay and PIK debt through the issuance of a high yield bond and entry into a revolving credit facility
- on the reorganisation of its capital structure by way of parallel schemes of arrangement
- An ad hoc group of term loan lenders to a distressed retail business
- An ad hoc group of term loan lenders to a distressed retail business in Chapter 11
- Punch Taverns plc
- on its acquisition by Vine Acquisitions Limited and the disposal of the Punch A securitisation group to Heineken UK Limited
- on the capital restructuring of its Punch A and Punch B securitisations
Prior Experience
Slaughter and May, London
- Associate, 2013–2018
- Trainee Solicitor, 2011–2013
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Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- 2013, Admitted to practice as a Solicitor of England and Wales
Education
- BPP Law School, LondonLegal Practice Coursewith Distinction2011
- BPP Law School, LondonGraduate Diploma in Lawwith Distinction2010
- Jesus College, University of OxfordB.A., Modern HistoryHons2009