The Legal 500

‘Valuable business partner’ Andreas Neocleous & Co LLC delivers ‘a prompt, high level, experienced service’. It recently advised a banking consortium (which included EBRD and the IFC, among others) on the financing of the development and reconstruction of St Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport. Andreas Neocleous is ‘a credit to the legal profession’ and ‘a problem-solver’. Elias Neocleous is also recommended. Former practice head Kyriacos Georgiades left the firm in December 2012 to establish a new practice.

Antis Triantafyllides & Sons’ highly regarded banking and finance practice is complemented by the firm’s prowess in litigation and corporate law. Stelios Triantafyllides is recommended.

Banking and finance is a key area of practice for Chryssafinis & Polyviou LLC and its senior partner Polis Polyviou. Clients include Bank of Cyprus, Alpha Bank and Cyprus Development Bank.

Chrysses Demetriades & Co Law Office has strong experience across the financing space, including asset, acquisition and project finance, as well as general banking matters. Chris Georghiades and company and commercial department head Christos Mavrellis are recommended.

George Y Yiangou LLC has particular expertise in inbound investment to countries in Russia and elsewhere in Eastern Europe, and also has broad experience acting for lenders and borrowers. Lory Cirstea, Chris Yiangou and Panayiotis Panayides are recommended.

Georgiades & Pelides has banking, corporate finance and financial services regulatory practices. The experienced Marcos Georgiades advises local and offshore banks.

Finance is one of the focus areas for Harneys Aristodemou Loizides Yiolitis LLC, which advises on all aspects of financing, and recently acted as local counsel for JSC VTB Bank on a $500m structured, secured corporate financing of a shipbuilding group. Pavlos Aristodemou and Nancy Erotocritou have ‘unshakeable dedication’ and give ‘the highest standard of advice’.

Ioannides Demetriou LLC’s widely praised group recently advised a consortium of lenders on the €170m financing of a wind farm project. Name partner Pambos Ioannides is the key figure.

Dr K Chrysostomides & Co LLC provides broad and ‘excellent service’ to clients including Barclays, Cyprus Popular Bank, Hellenic Bank, and Société Générale. The team also recently advised Gazprombank on the Cypriot aspects of providing a $60m loan facility to a Cyprus-based company. Practice head Chryso Pitsilli-Dekatris, Kypros Chrysostomides, and senior associates Pavlos Symeonides and Nicoletta Kouvara are highly recommended.

Kinanis LLC’s ‘highly professional’ group ‘provides advice that takes into account the exact needs and problems of the client’. It recently advised a major Ukrainian grain and oil supplier on a $100m loan facility obtained from lenders including ING Bank. Irene Christodoulou is the main contact.

‘Strong performer’ Michael Kyprianou & Co. LLC provides clients with ‘good value for money’. The firm’s work is driven by referrals from international firms and, in 2012, the group advised on various high-value loan facility agreements, pledge agreements, and deeds of guarantee. Tonia Antoniou, Lorena Charalambos and Zena Anotoniou are recommended.

Mouaimis & Mouaimis LLC has vast experience in financing work, and is recommended as ‘number-one counsel for capital markets transactions’. Panayotis Mouaimis is ‘a standout partner and specialist’.

Pamboridis LLC regularly represents local and international financial institutions as well as borrowers, with many instructions involving transactions pertaining to CIS countries and the UK. Bank of Cyprus is a regular client. Practice head Yiota Kythreotou-Theodorou is recommended.

Patrikios Pavlou & Associates LLC provides comprehensive banking and finance advice and recently acted on various high-value facility agreements, including assisting a Russian bank with acquisition finance and project finance mandates. Stavros Pavlou is ‘an experienced lawyer with a very practical and business-oriented approach’, and Stella Louca Pavlou and Lia Iordanou Theodoulou are recommended for banking and corporate finance respectively.

Andreas Coucounis & Co mainly advises its corporate clients on their borrowing needs. Practice head Dimitria Coucouni Andreou is ‘extremely thorough, methodical and a pleasure to work with’. Tasos Coucounis is also recommended.

Antonis Paschalides & Co, which ‘provides a very good level of service’, recently advised on the €210m refinancing of Silesia City Center shopping mall in Katowice, Poland. Charalambos Carlos Paschalides is recommended for banking work relating to corporate matters, and Alexia Melanie Paschalidou is an expert in banking litigation.

Clerides, Anastassiou, Neophytou LLC recently advised a sovereign wealth fund on the financing and restructuring of its assets in Cyprus. Practice head Effie Anastasiou is recommended.

Demetriou & Mavronicola LLC acted as local counsel alongside Canadian law firm Burnet Duckworth & Palmer LLP in advising Bank of Nova Scotia on its position as agent on a $250m syndicated loan. Christina Mavronicola and Athos Demetriou are the main contacts.

L Papaphilippou & Co LLC’s key clients include Alpha Bank and Marfin Popular Bank. Loukis Papaphilippou is recommended.

Despina Americanou heads Stelios Americanos & Co LLC’s banking and finance team, which recently advised EBRD on the provision of a €120m operational loan to a Russian-based company.

A.G. Paphitis & Co. LLC Law Office’s chief strength is its expertise in banking and investment regulations. It is in the process of acquiring Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) licences for three investment management firms. Angelos Paphitis is the main contact, and George Paphitis and Christiana Kouris are the main contacts.

Montanios & Montanios has a highly respected ship finance practice.

Papadopoulos, Lycourgos & Co LLC’s Adamos Georgiou is recommended for local instructions.