Zahir Nayani > Foot Anstey > Bristol, England > Lawyer Profile
Foot Anstey Offices
2 GLASS WHARF
BRISTOL
BS2 0FR
England
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Zahir Nayani
Work Department
Islamic Finance | Real Estate | Banking & Finance
Position
Zahir is a partner in our Islamic finance practice and advises on a range of real estate driven transactions for both investors and financial institutions.
He is named in the Legal 500 2023 as a Next Generation Partner in Islamic finance in London and described by clients as ‘an incredibly smart lawyer with a close eye on the commercial aspects of legal decision making’ and ‘very approachable, responsive and knowledgeable.’
Zahir joined the firm over a decade ago as one of the first fee earners in our then newly established Bristol office and, after a client-side stint as General Counsel at a privately-owned investment advisory firm in the West End, returned to Foot Anstey in 2019. He aims to provide solutions-focused advice to clients, having been one himself.
He is well-versed in structuring real estate investments and financings in line with our clients’ strategic aims, and seeing those through the full transaction lifecycle. He enjoys working collaboratively with stakeholders and transaction counterparties and aims to impart advice grounded in commerciality and pragmatism.
An example of Zahir’s work includes leading a team of lawyers in acting for Riyad Bank (London Branch) on their single largest real estate financing transaction to date: a £64m shariah-compatible facility used to refinance the UK HQ of an international law firm in Moorgate.
Lawyer Rankings
South West > Real estate > Commercial property: Dorset, Devon and Cornwall
Developers, financial service providers and energy and infrastructure companies make up some of Foot Anstey‘s core client base. Regarded as ‘knowledgeable, commercial and practical’, the firm handles mandates ranging from portfolio management to Shariah-compatible property transactions. Richard Sutton, who chairs the practice from the firm’s Exeter office, is well versed in property development matters. The Bristol-based Zahir Nayani is recommended for his expertise in Islamic finance. Philip Parrott, who joined the practice in July 2022, is a key contact for portfolio clients from the retail and energy sectors. Other names to note include Kate Dawe, whose commercial property expertise extends to leasing management.
South West > Finance > Banking and finance
The ‘strength in depth’ at Foot Anstey allows the firm to advise on a wide range on banking and finance transactions, with corporate lending, development finance and event-driven finance standing out as recent areas of focus for the team. Practice head Katie-Jane Rees’ expertise extends to leveraged cross-border transactions. Her Bristol colleague Zahir Nayani has specific expertise in Islamic finance. Toby Larkham is equipped to handle a range of real estate finance transactions, drawing on notable expertise in offshore financing structures.
London > Finance > Islamic finance
(Next Generation Partners)With a deep bench of experts at partner and associate levels, spread primarily across its Bristol and Exeter offices, the ‘very knowledgeable’ team at Foot Anstey provides ‘pragmatic and commercially realistic’ advice to banks, investors and corporates seeking to utilise a variety of Islamic finance structures. Under the guidance of the vastly experienced Imam Qazi, the team’s sweet-spot lies in structuring Shariah compliant transactions in the real estate sector, with the firm regularly picking up work for the majority of Islamic banks active in the UK on both new money and refinancing mandates in the space. Drawing upon a wealth of experience in both private practice, as well as during a stint as General Counsel at a privately owned shariah-compliant investment advisory firm, the ‘commercial and approachable’ Zahir Nayani is also pivotal to the firm’s success in the real estate sector, helping to grow and develop the firm’s lender-side client base, as well as regularly handling work for investors as borrowers. As well as conventional banking advice, the firm has also successfully made in-roads into the burgeoning Islamic fintech arena, with Exeter-based head of retail financial services Alan Hughes well-placed to advise both Islamic banks and Islamic fintech start-ups on the relevant commercial and regulatory implications pursuant to new and often innovative products. ‘Proactive and knowledgeable’ senior associate Kate Heard is also gaining traction with clients as a result of her aptitude at structuring a wide range of Islamic financing arrangements pursuant to real estate-driven banking and finance transactions and multi-tranche development transactions. All named practitioners are based in Bristol unless otherwise indicated.
Lawyer Rankings
- Commercial property: Dorset, Devon and Cornwall South West > Real estate
- Banking and finance South West > Finance
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Insurance > Clinical negligence: claimant
- Private client > Contentious trusts and probate
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate and commercial: Dorset, Devon and Cornwall
- Employment > Employment: Dorset, Devon and Cornwall
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
- Real estate > Commercial property: Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire
- Insurance > Personal injury: claimant
Firm Rankings
- Private client > Agriculture and estates
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: Dorset, Devon and Cornwall
- Real estate > Commercial property: Dorset, Devon and Cornwall
- Real estate > Construction
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Energy and projects
- Private client > Family
- Employment > Health and safety
- Finance > Insolvency and corporate recovery
- Public sector > Local government
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- Real estate > Property litigation
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
- Finance > Banking and finance
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: Bristol
- Real estate > Commercial property: Bristol
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate tax
- Employment > Employment: Bristol
- Real estate > Environment
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property
- Real estate > Planning
- Real estate > Social housing
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate and commercial: Bristol