Long-time Ashurst banking partner Mark Vickers is to retire from the firm this April, following a near 40-year stint in the profession.

Vickers, who has been a partner at the firm since 1999, is one of the UK's leading practitioners on leveraged finance transactions, having acted for the likes of Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, UBS, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland. He has also worked with the likes of Barclays and Lloyds.

At Ashurst, he is one of the firm's best-known partners and has served on the firm's global board twice, between 2004 and 2007 and between 2013 and 2017. In addition, he held roles including head of banking in Europe and global managing partner of restructuring.