Ashley has over 35 years’ experience in commercial and investment banking with in excess of 30 years spent working in Project Finance and the broader infrastructure sector.
His experience covers lending and financial advisory, M&A advice and client coverage across multiple sectors and geographies with particular focus on transportation, water and waste, and social infrastructure across the EMEA, Australia and Canada. His clients include infrastructure fund managers, corporates and public sector entities.
Ashley began his career as a graduate trainee at NatWest and became a founding member of its Project Advisory team in 1992. He advised various clients in their bids for early Private Finance Initiative (“PFI”) projects in the United Kingdom as well as the public sector promoters of CrossRail and other major European infrastructure projects.
Ashley moved to establish Dexia’s London Project Finance team in 1996 and led it for over eight years during which time it became a market leader in the financing of UK PFI and other projects. He subsequently moved to Assured Guaranty to set up its international infrastructure business and then to Depfa in 2007 to establish its global infrastructure equity activity.
From 2008 to 2023 Ashley held various senior positions in Natixis’ international infrastructure business including heading infrastructure finance in EMEA, activity across the bank in the transport, water and waste and social infrastructure sectors, and infrastructure fund coverage.
Over his many years in the project finance and infrastructure arenas Ashley has been a regular speaker at conferences and been involved in many industry “firsts”. In recent years he has been highly active in arranging green and sustainability-linked finance in both the capital and bank markets.
Since leaving banking in 2023 Ashley has developed a portfolio career including acting as senior adviser to a market risk advisory firm, M&A adviser, and chairman-designate of a new infrastructure debt fund.
Ashley holds a BA (Hons) in Spanish & Business Studies from the University of Sheffield.