Narayan Iyer > Linklaters LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Narayan Iyer

Work Department

Banking

Position

Narayan is a finance partner and one of the Indian market’s leading international lawyers. He is head of the firm’s India practice, which advises corporates and financial institutions on outbound and inbound investments, projects and financings. 

Narayan has a broad finance practise, acting for major banks, financial sponsors and corporates. He has particular expertise in acquisition and structured financings, loan portfolio acquisitions and financings, real estate financings and inbound and outbound transactions. He has significant experience in the energy and infrastructure sectors. 

Between 2010 and 2013, Narayan was a partner of TT&A, Linklaters’ best friend law firm in India. Prior to that, he was based in Linklaters’ office in Singapore having started his career as a trainee with Linklaters in London.

Work highlights:

Narayan has acted on many high-profile finance deals. These include advising:

• Standard Chartered Bank on the sale of a portfolio of loans in India, the first in a series of similar deals in India as part of the government’s directive to banks to focus on the robustness of their balance sheets
• the lending and underwriting banks on the refinancing of US$6.9bn worth of debt uninsured by the Tata Corus Group
• Brookfield Property Partners on the acquisition and financing of Unitech’s Indian real estate portfolio
• Enron on the US$3bn Dhabol power project (since renamed Ratnagiri Gas and Power), the first ever inward investment into the India power sector
• the sponsor and borrowers on the Sakhalin LNG project, the world’s largest integrated oil and gas project and the largest LNG financing in Russia
• the banks on financing and reorganising Essar Oil’s debt portfolio

Career

Trainee solicitor Linklaters, London 1996-98; assistant solicitor, London and Singapore 1998-2007; partner, Singapore 2007-09; partner Talwar, Thakore & Associates, Mumbai 2010-13; partner Linklaters, London 2013.

Languages

English, Hindi, French, Tamil.

Memberships

Narayan is a frequent speaker at conferences, including speaking at events organised by Chambers of Industry, market associations and Legal professional bodies. 

Narayan has been interviewed several times on the growth of masala bonds as India increases efforts to spur on the bond markets, and was interviewed by Bloomberg TV India ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting the UK in November 2015.

His publications include a discussion on the banking structure in India and an analysis of the Indian Insolvency Act.

Narayan is ranked Band 1 by Chambers Global for International Firms, Expertise Based Abroad for India.

Education

Narayan studied economics at University of Bombay and law at the London School of Economics, and is a Solicitor of the Bombay Incorporated Law Society