Benefitting from ‘a deep knowledge of Islamic finance’ out of London, as well as from its Middle East offices, Ashurst is ‘excellent at bringing together cross-border and cross-discliplinary teams to deliver a seamless service to clients’, including banks (both conventional and Islamic), funds and government institutions. The scope of the work is broad and includes Sharia-compliant capital markets and structured financing transactions, as well as a considerable amount of Islamic finance-related structures underpinning project finance mandates. Team head Conor Funston is ‘able to interpret and apply Sharia principles in a very commercial way’, including in accordance with the market he is operating in, and is also effective at adapting structures rapidly to changing regulations. As well as his regular transactional work, which includes a considerable amount of Islamic finance-related debt capital markets mandates, Funston also handles big-ticket ad-hoc projects, including his advice to the Bank of England on the establishment of its Alternative Liquidity Facility (which has taken deposits from participating UK-based Islamic banks for the first time). 

Acting on its own, as well as frequently in conjunction with lawyers based out of the firm’s Dubai and Abu Dhabi offices, Dentons provides a strong service to both conventional and Islamic banks, primarily in relation to capital markets mandates. Team head Matthew Sapte has vast transactional experience, both in terms of sukuk bond issuances, as well as in relation to derivates and structured products – where his expertise is regularly sought after by banks developing templates and structured products. Yusuf Battiwala joined Norton Rose Fulbright in March 2022.

Foot Anstey‘s standalone five-partner South West-based practice provides ‘a holistic and commercial approach’ to banks, investors and corporates seeking to utilise a variety of Islamic finance structures. Key to the firm’s success has been ‘level headed and calm’ team head Imam Qazi who has built an ‘amazing team up from scratch’, and leads from the front by dint of the ‘wealth of experience‘ he has gained over the years handling a tremendous flow of work primarily in the real estate sector, one of the core areas of focus for the firm as a whole. The ‘incredibly smart and commercial’ Zahir Nayani has also played a key role in shaping the firm’s success in the market; as well as expertly handling Sharia compliant real estate finance products, he has also managed and executed several major LIBOR-transition projects for Islamic banks. Other key individuals include London-based consultant Michael Evans, who specialises in advising on the tax-related aspects of Islamic financial structures for high-net-worth-individuals and banks; Exeter-based head of retail financial services, Alan Hughes, who is adept at advising Islamic banks and fintech startups on the regulatory implications of any new products; and managing associate Lingxi Wang, who handles a significant amount of Islamic finance-related work for East Asian clients. All named practitioners are based in Bristol unless otherwise indicated.

Led from London by the ‘fantastic‘ Farmida Bi, and also able to leverage significant resources from the firm’s Middle East offices, Norton Rose Fulbright has ‘great and broad experience’ across a range of Islamic finance techniques, often utilised to fund Sharia-compliant transactions in core areas of sector strength for the firm, including energy and transport. A ‘true specialist’ who is ‘very well-connected’, Bi is a popular choice among a number of high profile corporates, banks and sovereigns, including Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance – which she continues to advise on all its sukuk issuances. In addition, Bi, who was also recently named the firm’s global chair, has been at the forefront of efforts to utilise Islamic finance as a means of unlocking funding for ESG initiatives designed to promote the UN's Social Development Goals. Counsel Andrew Coote also continues to gain a strong name for himself in the market and regularly provides key support to Bi on mandates handled by the team. The arrival in March 2022 of Yusuf Battiwala from Dentons further strengthened the team.

While Mayer Brown International LLP does handle some fairly commoditised work in the space, including advice on sukuk issuances and murabaha financings, its sweet-spot lies in its structuring of complex and highly bespoke Sharia-compliant structures and products for a range of clients, including asset managers and banks. In this regard, ‘exceptional’ team head Barry Cosgrave, who divides his time between London and Dubai, takes the lead on the most significant mandates (often working alongside practitioners from throughout the firm’s global network), including work for conventional funds to establish mechanisms to raise money from Islamic investors. As part of his broader corporate restructuring credentials, Cosgrave is also well placed to advise stakeholders on the unravelling of debt, including both conventional and Islamic finance structures. Christopher Street is another key member of the team, and has developed particular expertise advising Middle Eastern banks on Islamic financing structures to facilitate transactions within the aviation sector.

Milbank‘s ‘clever, hardworking and knowledgeable’ team is well versed across the spectrum of Islamic finance structures, which it deploys to good effect on behalf of funds and banks engaged in work across firmwide sector and practice area strengths, including project finance, asset finance and restructuring. In this regard, the team, which is headed by John Dewar, is very effective at knitting together both conventional and Islamic finance structures to satisfy all stakeholders on a deal. Dewar recently had a key role in relation to the firm’s work for the senior creditors on the $11bn restructuring and debt reprofiling of the Sadara Chemical Company – the first ever rescheduling of a project financing involving export credit agencies, Islamic banks and sukuk bondholders, and the largest Sharia-compliant restructuring in Saudi history and the wider Middle East. Special counsel Munib Hussain provides ‘practical legal solutions‘ in the project finance space, and also regularly provides Islamic finance input when the firm’s market leading aviation finance practice requires input necessitating Sharia-compliant structures.

Led from Birmingham by Mohammed Saqub, Shakespeare Martineau LLP‘s ‘very approachable’ team provides a ‘great customer service’ to a strong and loyal roster of UK and Middle Eastern wholly Sharia-compliant banks, as well as conventional banks with an Islamic window. Although the scope of the offering is broad, a significant proportion of the work relates to commercial and retail real estate mandates, with work ranging from advice on Islamic mortgages to complex commercial and development facilities. As well as transactional work, the firm’s depth of knowledge within the space is also acknowledged by the UK government, which has recently sought guidance as to the impact changes in legislation will have on Islamic finance transactions.

Acting on its own, as well as frequently in conjunction with lawyers based out of the firm’s strong Middle Eastern hub, Trowers & Hamlins LLP is a compelling proposition to stakeholders utilising a wide range of Sharia-compliant structures on both inbound and outbound investments. A significant amount of the work handled out of London relates to property finance, with Neill Gibson particularly adept at devising often innovative structures to facilitate Islamic investors wishing to invest in UK and European real estate. The team is also well placed to leverage the firm’s overarching private wealth offering, and is regularly engaged by Islamic family offices and high-net-worth-individuals on their investment strategies – much of which are structured utilising Islamic financing. Corporate partner Adya Habboush is regularly engaged in this type of work, as well as having significant expertise establishing Sharia-compliant offshore funds.

Benefitting from a ‘depth of experience and knowledge in Islamic finance’ gained from its London, Middle East and Asia offices, White & Case LLP is a ‘trusted partner’ for a varied client base including lenders, corporates, funds and sovereign governments engaged in complex multi-jurisdictional transactions. Splitting his time between London and Dubai, Debashis Dey is global head of the practice and ‘provides a lot of helpful technical and market practice advice’, particularly in the context of Sharia-compliant capital markets transactions for both issuers and underwriters. Ingrid York is also an integral member of the team, who as part of her overarching structured finance and derivatives experience regularly handles Sharia-compliant work for banks, sponsors and corporates requiring trading and hedging documentation.

‘Always attentive to the needs of its clients’, the ‘experienced, friendly and approachable‘ team at Druces LLP advises both conventional and Sharia-compliant financial institutions, corporate counterparties, and investors on transactions structured in a Sharia-compliant manner. Christopher Axford is regularly engaged in murabaha financings, as well as an increasing amount of sukuk issuances. A significant amount of this financing work relates to inbound property investments made by Middle East investors, an area that real estate specialist Suzanne Middleton Lindsley regularly works on in harness with Axford. Dual UK and Australia-qualified Antony Cotton co-heads the team alongside Axford.

Sitting within Fladgate LLP‘s overarching funds, finance and regulatory practice, the Islamic finance team has significant expertise advising lenders and borrowers on a variety of Sharia-compliant products, including commodity murabaha and ijara lease structures. Drawing upon the firm’s established private client credentials, the team, which is led by Ella Leonard, also regularly advises Middle East and Asia-based family offices on loan facilities for residential and high value commercial property acquisitions in London. Charles Proctor and Seetal Modi are other names to note.

At Keystone Law, Fara Mohammad is the main contact for Islamic finance mandates, where she is able to leverage her ‘in depth understanding of the different Sharia structures’ to good effect for financial institutions, companies, investors and individuals.