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United Kingdom
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Sidecar debt meaning

What does Sidecar debt mean?
In practice, sidecar debt is additional borrowing raised under a borrower’s incremental/accordion capacity but documented in a separate debt instrument rather than as an incremental facility under the existing facility agreement. It is market terminology (not defined in legislation or case law) used across UK and Irish leveraged finance and LMA-based facility agreements. Key features and usage: - Sits alongside the main finance documents but outside them, often to access new lenders, different pricing, tenor or covenants. - May share guarantees and security on a pari passu or junior basis (or be unsecured), typically via an intercreditor agreement or security sharing deed. - Must fit within permitted debt baskets or ratio tests and observe limitations on security and guarantors. - Can, depending on drafting, fall outside MFN protection or other incremental-specific restrictions if those clauses only capture debt “under” the main agreement; many modern documents extend MFN and other protections to sidecars. Practical significance: - Provides flexibility to raise incremental debt quickly without reopening the main facility. - May dilute existing lender protections or create priming/leakage risks if incurred at non-obligor or outside the security perimeter. Usage and legal treatment are broadly consistent across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
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View the related Practice Notes about Sidecar debt

PRACTICE NOTES
Acquisition and Leveraged Finance: Practitioner’s A–Z of Terms, Covenants, Structures and Jargon

This glossary sets out many of the expressions commonly used in the leveraged finance market. Words appearing in the definitions in bold are defined elsewhere in this glossary. For further banking terminology, please refer to the main Banking & Finance Glossary... Acquisition finance glossary—A Acceleration Acceleration is the formal action taken by the agent, on the instructions of the majority lenders, following an event of default, such as making a demand for early repayment of the loan. See Practice Note: Accelerating a loan for more information... Accordion feature/accordion facility An accordion, also called an incremental debt feature, is a mechanism in the facilities agreement that, provided specified conditions are satisfied (for example, pro forma compliance with a leverage test), permits those lenders under the facilities agreement who wish to do so to advance additional debt. The terms for that extra debt are typically captured in an increase notice. This accordion or incremental debt flexibility is different from structural adjustment, which usually requires the majority consent...

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PRACTICE NOTES
UK Banking, Finance, Capital Markets, Derivatives and Insolvency Law Glossary including Islamic finance

Banking & Finance glossary A Auditing and Accounting Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) The foremost Islamic, international, autonomous, independent, not-for-profit corporate body that develops and issues accounting, auditing, governance, ethics and Shari’ah benchmarks and standards for Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs) and the wider Islamic finance sector. Founded in Bahrain in 1991, it is backed by a number of institutional members across more than 45 countries, including central banks and regulatory authorities, financial institutions, accounting and auditing practices, and legal firms. Its pronouncements are currently applied by leading Islamic financial institutions across the world and have advanced a progressive and gradual harmonisation of global Islamic finance practice. It also delivers professional qualification programmes—notably Certified Islamic Professional Accountant (CIPA), Certified Shari’ah Adviser and Auditor (CSAA), and the corporate compliance programme—in efforts to strengthen the industry’s human capital and governance frameworks. For further details, see Practice Note: Key participants in the Islamic finance industry—Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). Acceleration Acceleration is the formal action...

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