Allen & Overy expand sub-Saharan practice

Michael Duncan

Michael Duncan, co-managing partner comments, "We started the office with three partners and four lawyers and today our staff numbers are five partners, six directors and 23 lawyers, as well as six candidate attorneys, assisted by a support staff of 18. This growth signals the demand from our global network and clients for strong executional ability throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

"We are currently involved in a number of multi-billion dollar deals in countries including Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Mauritius, assisted by colleagues in our London, Singapore, Perth, Abu Dhabi and Washington offices, among others. This underlines our ability to service complex cross-border transactions. We have been working with homegrown companies and international corporations alike on opportunities in the banking, finance, energy, infrastructure and mining sectors in both South Africa and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, in areas such as leveraged finance and M&A."

Lionel Shawe

Lionel Shawe, co-managing partner adds, "In our first 15 months of operations the firm has conducted more financing of M&A deals than it expected this time last year, we have also seen an uptick in M&A activity globally. There is a clear trend emerging of South African companies having the appetite to make offshore acquisitions - especially in developed markets, such as Brait's acquisition of Virgin Active and New Look and Mediclinic's transaction with Al Noor. We see this trend continuing into 2016, especially as South African businesses look adjust investments to counter falling Rand values."

Rise of Africa in international investment

The firm has been active in Africa for many years and in the last decade has invested heavily in building a network of relationship law firms in many countries across the continent. Its first African office was in Casablanca focusing on Northern and Francophone Africa.

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Ahead of the 2008 financial crisis, few investors gave Africa the attention it deserved. With growth across the continent accelerating and with huge demand for vital investment, capital is now flowing into and across Africa in an unprecedented rate due to increase in international investment. With growing recognition around the globe of the huge potential that the continent offers and the significant changes in risk perception, Africa is expecting a period of extraordinary growth that a decade ago would hardly have seemed possible. The International Monetary Fund is predicting that 14 of the 22 economies set to grow fastest in the years leading up to 2019 will be in Africa.

Although the African growth story was initially based around natural resources, it has become a great deal broader with other sectors now expanding, including energy, infrastructure, financial services and retail and consumer products.

For more information, go to www.bm-africa.com.