Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Recourse definition

What does Recourse mean? Recourse describes, in finance and security documents, the right of a creditor or purchaser to look beyond the asset to another party (such as a seller, borrower, guarantor or indemnifier) for payment or reimbursement. It is a descriptive expression used across multiple contexts rather than a term generally defined by statute; its scope is set by contract. In receivables financing (factoring, invoice discounting and securitisation), a purchase “with recourse” typically entitles the purchaser to require the seller to repurchase a receivable for a defined repurchase price (a put‑back), and/or to indemnify for non‑payment or breaches. A purchase “without recourse” allocates debtor...

Project finance in emerging markets: roles of ECAs, multilaterals and DFIs; eligibility, support instruments, multi-source structures, intercreditor/security terms, and political risk mitigation

Published by a LexisNexis Banking & Finance expert

Practice notes

Projects are typically financed on a limited recourse basis

In project financings, capital is usually assembled from a combination of sources:

government contributions
senior debt arranged by commercial lenders and/or funds (see Practice Note: Project finance—key finance parties)
equity injected by project sponsors (see Practice Note: Project finance—key project parties—Sponsor)

That said, in some jurisdictions, obtaining senior debt from commercial lenders and/or funds can prove difficult owing to constrained local liquidity and/or actual or perceived political risks (see Practice Note: Project risks and risk allocation—Legal and political risk in a project finance transaction).

In developing markets, this shortfall can be addressed by institutional lenders such as Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) and multilateral or bilateral (national) Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). Alternatively, providers of senior debt may benefit from ECA or DFI support through a guarantee or other insurance coverage.

ECAs are typically involved in overseas projects to champion their domestic industries in the sphere of international trade—for example, where a national industry holds equity in a foreign project, serves as a principal contractor, or supplies project equipment to that venture...

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Dimitri Papaefstratiou

Hunton Andrews Kurth

Dimitri is a senior project finance lawyer with a strong track record of advising major clients in connection with complex energy and infrastructure projects. Dimitri acts for sponsors, lenders and tendering authorities on a wide range of projects across the Mediterranean, Africa and across EMEA. His focus is on energy, including oil & gas, hydrogen, renewable energy and high-efficiency thermal and gas-fired power projects. Dimitri is listed as a “Leading Partner” in the London market by Legal 500 for both Power and Oil & Gas (including renewables) and is the only law firm partner to be listed in both such categories....

Joseph Lam

Hunton Andrews Kurth

Joseph’s practice focuses on energy, power, infrastructure and other projects and the related financings. He is experienced in acting for acquirers, project sponsors, investors, commercial banks and public sector lenders such as ECAs and DFIs in projects. Many of these projects involve complex multi-tranche financing structures consisting of loans from commercial lenders and DFI and ECA backed financing.Joseph previously practiced for a considerable period in Hong Kong during which time he worked on many transactions related to China and the wider Asian region....

Emmanuel Olawore

Hunton Andrews Kurth

Emmanuel is a corporate lawyer advising clients on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures, private equity, and venture capital transactions across EMEA regions, particularly within the energy and infrastructure sector. In addition to his corporate practice, Emmanuel also has a range of experience representing sponsors, investors, and lenders on project finance and development transactions, and advising development finance institutions on a broad range of investments in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. ...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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