Michael Swartland

Michael Swartland is a Partner at Bowmans' Cape Town office, practising in the firm's Finance and Mergers and Acquisitions practices, with expertise in preference share and BEE funding, bilateral and syndicated lending, structured finance, capital markets, and private equity.

He regularly advises major South African and international financial institutions and corporates on their lending arrangements, including exchange control, security taking and regulatory matters. Notable transactions include advising Coca-Cola Beverages Africa on its ~ZAR 24 billion debt raise across eight jurisdictions; advising Curro Holdings on the sustainability overlay of all of their existing financing arrangements totalling ZAR 3.3 billion; advising Old Mutual on its ZAR 3.1 billion sustainability-linked debt raised from a consortium of banks; and advising on the refinancing of ~ZAR 18 billion of debt facilities within the Imperial Logistics group.

Michael holds a BA and an LL.B from the University of Cape Town. He is an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa.

He is recognised by The Legal 500 as a Next Generation Partner for Banking and Finance in South Africa (2025–2026), with clients describing him as "commercially minded and an absolute pleasure to work with".