About Us

Structured finance

Acted as lead Counsel in a host of pioneering structured finance transactions including:

• An inaugural issue of US$500 million of covered bonds
• A €400 million bond issue in respect of a €4.5 billion portfolio of SME loans
• A synthetic securitisation of a US$ 1.9 billion portfolio of non-performing debt obligations
• Transactions providing financial guarantees to enhance the credit rating of capital markets debt instruments issued by special purpose vehicles in funding arrangements

Debt/Equity finance

Advised on a wide spread of transactions including:

• Acting for the borrower in respect of the amendment of the terms of a US$1,488,000,000 senior secured medium term acquisition facility agreement
• Advising the lender on a EUR34,000,000 acquisition facility and documenting additional security arrangements
• Advising a female founded and led, growth equity, impact investment company on its $1.75m equity round investment in a start-up producer of solar enabled refrigerators
• Advising the agent bank and lenders on a US$85m contingent facility funding a road project

Capital Markets

• Acted for the lead managers in respect of a £240 million Eurobond issue of notes listed on the London Stock Exchange to fund the extension of motorways in the UK
• Advising Issuers and Investors on a variety of bond issues listed on the London, Luxembourg, Ireland, Mauritius
• Acted for a major European bank in the structuring of a GBP 20 million loan and risk sharing facility to fund loans to agri-businesses in Africa

Capacity Building

Supporting banks, government institutions and other corporate entities to enhance their capacity to understand and use international capital markets and derivatives and financial markets products including:

• Designed and delivered a training programme breaking down the complexity of international syndicated loan agreements and bond issues for senior government officials
• Designed and delivered a series of training programmes to build capability within the legal department and trading desks of a European bank in a variety of derivatives, capital markets and structured finance areas
• Facilitated round table summits with target investor groups in Europe and the USA

Derivatives

Advised on the structure and documentation of a variety of derivatives transactions including:

• A US$500 million notional credit derivative transaction
• A US$500m cross currency swap transaction
• US$1 billion aggregate notional amount of total return swaps hedging the exposure of the client under a portfolio of reference contracts

Corporate/Commercial

Advised investment companies, start-ups and other corporates through all stages of their business enterprise including:

• Advised an investor on the structure and documentation of contracts for the acquisition of a portfolio of microfinance banks across several African countries
• Advising a Central Bank on procurement legislation, procedure and documentation for a contract to print the country’s currency
• Acting as outsourced general counsel to an international investor and managing the legal risks involved in their multi-million dollars investment in Nigeria; supporting the CEO and COO in managing the dispute in respect thereof and appointing required law firms in various jurisdictions to manage the arbitration
• Advising a UK investment company on the structuring of an investment vehicle, creating the same and drafting the investment terms and other documentation
• Advising a Swiss investment company on a due diligence review in connection with a proposed purchase of a gold mine and related assets in Sierra Leone
• Advising an investment company based in the Netherlands on the structure and documentation of a joint venture agreement with an oil and gas company in Ghana

Regulatory/Fin Tech

• Assisting GAEX in the context of the creation of a commodities exchange using the blockchain technology
• Advising a major fintech company in Nigeria on regulatory and compliance issues in connection with its operations in other African countries
• Advised a UK technology company on various banking and financial services regulations and ensuring compliance of their products therewith

International Arbitration

• Co-counsel to an international industrial investor in a bilateral investment treaty arbitration resulting in a circa USD 70 million award for the client
• Assisting the Ministry of Finance of an African government in arranging a complex and innovative confidential debt repayment package of USD3.5 billion that resolved a longstanding impasse between that country and its creditors