Rowena Downie

Rowena is a partner and works within the firm's banking team. Her area of expertise includes real estate finance, acquisition finance, renewables finance, development finance and intercreditor arrangements.

Some of her most notable clients include NatWest, HSBC Bank Plc, Hodge Bank, Metro Bank Plc, Lloyds Private Bank and the Development Bank of Wales (formerly Finance Wales). She regularly provides advice to these clients on all areas of banking.

Rowena is widely recognised within the banking sector and she is held in high regard. In 2018 she was ranked as ‘Associate to watch’ in Chambers 2018, Rowena is also mentioned in Legal 500 directory 2018 as a "next generation lawyer" in Banking and Finance.

Rowena regularly advises clients on development loans and has a particular interest in financing of renewable energy projects, including wind turbines, solar farms and anaerobic digester plants. She has also worked on several projects to create systems tailored to the needs of lender clients for receiving instructions and for conditions precedent/case management, most recently for a buy to let portfolio product which has tight timescales between sanction drawdown.

Qualifying in 2010, Rowena joined Hugh James a year later having trained and worked in the City of London at Hammonds LLP. Since qualifying, she has exclusively practiced banking and within her time at Hugh James has been promoted to associate in 2014 and senior associate in 2016. Rowena was made a partner in 2018.