About

Number of years practice: 23

Principal practice areas: Energy, natural resources and infrastructure finance and project development

Languages spoken: English

What is the geographical focus of your practice in Africa?

West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa and South Africa.

Please describe the most important matters you have worked on in the African market in the last two years, including your role and the significance of the matter (if any) to the development of business and law.

The SNE project in Senegal, which is the first major oil project in the country. I am leading the team advising the joint project sponsors on the development and financing of the project.

The Nachtigal hydropower project in Cameroon – the largest power project developed in recent times in the region, involving major international sponsors (EDF and IFC) with lending from major DFIs. The project will be transformational to the power sector in Cameroon, and I am advising the sponsor group on the English law aspects of the project.

The Sankofa gas-to-power project in Ghana where we are advising Vitol on the development and financing of the project. The project is predicated on domestic gas being taken onshore to be used in the Ghana domestic market and was financed with this as the underpinning to the financing. I led the team on all aspects of our advice to Vitol.

The Kenya Crude Oil Pipeline. I am leading the team advising Tullow, Total and Africa Oil Corporation (as sponsors) on all aspects of the project. This will be transformational for Kenya in that it will allow the international export of oil for the first time from the country.

The Kafue Gorge Hydropower project in Zambia. I am leading the team advising the government of Zambia on all aspects of the financing and development of the project. The project involves financing from China Eximbank of approximately US$1bn with additional financing offered by a syndicate of commercial banks. The project will result in the generation of 850 MW or more of electricity for the domestic market in Zambia.

Of particular note, is that we have had the major law firm role on all of the above projects – reinforcing our position as the market leading international law firm for large-scale projects in Africa and other emerging markets.

What differentiates your practice from that of other private practice lawyers?

The key for me is the mix of very large and often transformational projects – such as those mentioned above – with a mix of smaller and more local projects. My client base is also incredibly varied; from sponsors and governments to commercial lenders and, of course, DFI lenders.

At any one time I have more than 20 deals on the go in Africa and so get genuine broad exposure across the continent and across sectors, not just a few roles on a couple of large deals.

Why has Africa been a particularly strong focus for you?

I have been working on transactions and projects since 2001 and it has become self-fulfilling with clients more interested than ever in having genuine Africa experts supporting them on their transactions (with the challenges that exist all over the continent today). There is a huge variety of work in the energy, natural resources and infrastructure sectors, and the transactions are always challenging and interesting
– I have yet to come across two deals that are the same.

What changes have you seen in the appetite for Africa-based ventures and investments over the last five years?

The key change I have seen is the involvement of new players who are more familiar with developed markets – these include major European and Asian corporates, as well as private equity investors (primarily from the US) who are new to the continent and have brought with them different views and expectations and a new take on what is possible.

Having said that, the challenges remain in governance, politics and, of course, financial markets, meaning that true expertise whether within client teams, financial advisers or lawyers is absolutely crucial.

Are there any aspects of the African legal market that you would like to see change?

I would very much like to see African governments receive better advice than they frequently get. It is important that their rights are protected from investors who may over-reach, but it seems rare that the advice strikes the right balance between allowing investors a free reign or alternatively governments being given a very unrealistic view of what they can and should be able to achieve which has the effect of deterring investment.

What megatrends do you think will shape the African market over the coming five years? How (if at all) will these trends affect your practice?

I think the key trends will be continued growth in interest from private equity and other financial investors, who will seek to change the models on which projects (especially in the infrastructure sector) are developed.

Continued Chinese interest but a rear-guard being fought more actively by the US, Japan, UK and French and German governments to ensure a more balanced outcome, as well as continued monitoring by the IMF of governments signing up to obligations they cannot afford.