Martin is a specialist in international finance with over 20 years global experience and acts for a variety of financial institutions in addition to sponsors and corporate borrowers. His broad-based finance experience includes cross-border syndicated financings, leveraged and acquisition finance, debt capital markets, fund formation and asset management, Islamic finance and restructurings. He has worked at some of the world’s largest and most respected law firms on matters spanning the globe for market leading international financial institutions and companies.

Martin’s Islamic finance experience ranges from advising lenders and borrowers on simple murabaha and ijara finance arrangements through to acting as global counsel for an investment grade listed financial institution on their structured sukuk issue. Since relocating to the GCC 10 years ago Martin has acted for a number of leading international and GCC banks on Sharia’h compliant matters throughout the GCC, Africa and Europe and has extensive experience of applying the fundamental principles of the Sharia'h to commercial transactions.

Representative Experience

Oman:

• Advised Bank Sohar, the Mandated Lead Arranger, in connection with the US$257 million project financing for the Moon Iron and Steel Company project at Sohar. The facilities were a mix of Islamic and conventional facilities and the advice included having to structure the transaction to cover the arrangements between the Islamic financiers and the conventional banks.
• Advised Meethaq Bank on the construction financing of a chicken broiler plant in Oman structured as an istisna/forward ijara.
• Advised Meethaq Bank on the construction financing of a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant structured as an istisna/forward ijara.
• Acted for Oman Telecommunications Company in its USD$420mn bridge loan financing from a syndicate of banks arranged by Citibank N.A., London Branch, including Arab Banking Corporation (B.S.C) and Mashreq Bank PSC for its proposed takeover bid for the leading Maltese telecommunications company GO.

Other GCC:

• Acted for Masraf Al Rayan in connection with its QAR 1.8bn (approx. USD$495mn) commodity murabaha financing of a logistics project in the south of Doha.
• Acted for The Commercial Bank (Q.S.C.) in connection with its QAR 1.2bn (approx. USD$330mn) term loan to Msheireb Properties for the development of a spa and family resort and mixed use commercial and office building.
• Acted for Masraf Al Rayan on two separate facilities, together worth USD$300mn, of USD$ 236.8mn B.V. and USD$ 63.2mn by way of a revolving commodity murabaha with a bullet repayment for general corporate purposes, together with Group guarantee.
• Acted for Masraf Al Rayan in the refinancing of major Group’s existing dual currency (GBP and USD) debt worth USD$85mn with Arab Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. by way of a commodity murabaha, secured by way of 3 BVI SPV Companies, each owning prime European real estate property and further secured by way of a personal guarantee and a third party real and personal property security.
• Advised Gulf State and the managers in respect of a number of the State’s bond and sukuk issues.
• Advised Doha Bank as issuer on English and Qatar law on their US$2,000,000,000 EMTN programme and the issue of US$500,000,000 certificates listed on the London Stock Exchange.
• Advised Deutsche Bank, HSBC, QInvest and Standard Chartered Bank as to Qatar law in their capacity as managers on the establishment of a US$1,500,000,000 sukuk programme by Qatar Islamic Bank and the issue of US$750,000,000 certificates thereunder and
• Advised Qatar International Islamic Bank as issuer on English and Qatari law on their debut US$700,000,000 sukuk issue listed on the Irish Stock Exchange.
• Advised Qatar National Bank, International Bank of Qatar and Samba Financial Group as mandated lead arrangers on English and Qatar law in respect of the provision of US$430,000,000 secured term loan facilities for the construction of a rig and ancillary equipment.
• Advised Masraf Al Rayan and its subsidiary (Al Rayan Investment) on the establishment and management of a Sharia'h-compliant GCC equity fund regulated by the Qatar Central Bank with a maximum capital of US$700,000,000.
• Advised Qatar International Islamic Bank on a Sharia'h-compliant repurchase arrangement entered into with Deutsche Bank.
• Advised SCBPE on its US$75,000,000 Sharia'h compliant mezzanine finance investment to a family-owned private company in Bahrain.
• Advised QNB Capital and their client on the prospective confidential purchase of sukuk issued by an African sovereign state.

Education:

• College of Law, Guildford, United Kingdom, CPE and Postgraduate Diploma.
• Royal Holloway, University of London, United Kingdom I), BA (Hons) (Latin and Ancient History): 2:1