What is a Security Trustee and do I need to appoint one?
What a security trustee does, why bondholders use one, and whether you need to appoint one.
Read insightTrustee
Straightforward when understood. Dangerous when underestimated.
Independent trustee for UK and European debt transactions — holding security on behalf of lenders, and acting when enforcement is needed.
Contact our trustee teamThe problem
Every secured bond or loan note issue needs a security trustee to hold the security for investors as a whole. It’s a quiet role until an Event of Default occurs. That’s when the trustee’s independence and the quality of the trust documents are tested. A trustee that is slow, conflicted or poorly documented can make enforcement harder for investors at the point it matters most.
The approach
Independent, collective, clearly defined
Independent
Independent of the borrower, with no lending position. We hold the security for the security holders as a whole.
Protection that holds
We hold the security for all noteholders collectively. Our powers to enforce are set out in the trust documents and are used when the conditions for enforcement are met.
Documentary certainty
Carefully constructed trustee documentation, on every appointment.
Experienced & reachable
Hundreds of trustee appointments behind every mandate, and a named team you can actually contact.
Straight answers
The questions you’re already asking
Why not a big institutional trustee?
The big houses are slow, faceless, and process-bound. We bring the same rigour with a named team you can reach and decisions made at deal pace.
Are you truly independent?
Yes. We are independent of the borrower and hold no lending position. We hold the security for the security holders as a whole.
What happens on a default?
When action is required, we are equipped to respond promptly and in the best interests of the security holders, acting for noteholders collectively and in line with the trust documents. The role is there to provide confidence and continuity.
The process
How it works
Step 01
Appointment
We take the trustee role, with carefully constructed trustee documentation.
Step 02
Hold the security
We hold the security for the noteholders as a whole and act on information that comes to us, where the trust documents give us the power to do so.
Step 03
Act on instruction
Where an Event of Default occurs and the required noteholders instruct us, we exercise the powers the security gives us.
Step 04
See it through
Where noteholders direct enforcement, we act through insolvency practitioners and see it through.
Why Bluewater
Why Bluewater
Hundreds of trustee appointments across UK and European markets, independent of the borrower, with no lending position. Security held independently. Powers used as the documents intend.
100s
of appointments
9 yrs
operating
Independent
of the borrower
Independent security trustee appointments, built on clear documentation.
Contact our trustee teamInsights
From the desk
Guidance for Loan Noteholders: Understanding the Loan Note Instrument and Security Trust Deed
General guidance on how secured loan note arrangements typically work: the loan note instrument, the debenture, the security trust deed, and the security trustee’s role.
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The incumbent trustee problem — why creditors replace bank trustees mid-restructuring
Why a bank-affiliated trustee’s independence comes into question once a deal turns distressed, and how creditors replace one mid-restructuring.
Read insight