| 17 Aug 2010 |
|
Norton Rose Advises On UK's First Islamic Bond Issue (Sukuk)
- Text size
Norton RoseNorton Rose
LLP, the international legal practice, has acted for International Innovative Technologies Limited (IIT) in the UK's first ever Sukuk. Dubai based Millennium Private EquityMillennium Private Equity Limited are the ultimate financiers in the transaction, which has raised financing using the musharaka (joint venture) Sukuk structure for the technology development company based in the North East of England. Sukuk, the Shariah compliant investment instruments, have seen steady global growth in recent years. The first half of 2010 saw worldwide Sukuk issuance topping USD13.7 billion; nearly double the amount recorded in the first half of 2009. They provide a way for financial institutions and other entities to invest in companies without breaching the principles and rules of Shariah.
London has emerged as a key centre for Islamic finance but as yet, for various reasons, Sukuk are yet to get off the ground in the country. This deal therefore represents a notable development for the Islamic finance industry in the UK, potentially opening the door to other UK firms raising finance through Sukuk.
Farmida Bi, partner at Norton RoseNorton Rose LLP, comments:
"I am delighted that Norton RoseNorton Rose
has advised on the first UK Sukuk after our instruction to advise the UK Government on its proposed Sukuk. "This is a significant step forward for Sukuk and for any UK company looking for alternative forms of investment. In other jurisdictions, we've acted on a number of high profile Sukuk, but there has been no UK corporate or sovereign Sukuk to date. The result has been a potentially significant source of investment into the UK being essentially cut off.
"However, this deal proves that Sukuk can work to great effect in the UK. The injection of funds will help fuel IIT's ambitious growth plans as well as help it further develop new technologies and products."
The Norton RoseNorton Rose LLP team was led by London based partner Farmida Bi with support from associates Hasan Al-Ahmar and Hamed Afzal. Tax advice was supplied by partners John Challoner and Angela Savin. IIT also engaged Newcastle based Hay & Kilner to advise on the relevant corporate documentation.
Millennium Private EquityMillennium Private Equity Limited was advised by the Dubai office of Herbert Smith LLP, with UK based Michelmores providing support on the relevant corporate documentation.
- Ends -
Norton RoseNorton Rose
LLP is a constituent part of Norton RoseNorton Rose Group, a leading international legal practice offering a full business law service from offices across Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.Knowing how our clients' businesses work and understanding what drives their industries is fundamental to us. Our lawyers share industry knowledge and sector expertise across borders, enabling us to support our clients anywhere in the world. We are strong in financial institutions; energy; infrastructure and commodities; transport; and technology.
We have over 1800 lawyers operating from 30 offices in Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Athens, Bahrain, Bangkok, Beijing, Brisbane, Brussels, Canberra, Dubai, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Melbourne, Milan, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Perth, Piraeus, Prague, Rome, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Warsaw and from associate offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta and Riyadh.
Norton RoseNorton Rose Group comprises Norton RoseNorton Rose LLP, Norton RoseNorton Rose Australia and their respective affiliates.
For further information please contact:
Gavin Collins, public relations manager
+44(0)20 7444 2466
gavin.collins@nortonrose.com
+44 (0)77 7065 0113
© Press Release 2010
Zawya is a distributor (and not a publisher) of content supplied by third parties and subscribers. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by those third parties, including information providers, subscribers or other users of the Service, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of the Company. The Company neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on the Service by anyone other than authorized Service employee spokespersons while acting in their official capacities. The Company is not responsible for any infringement of intellectual property rights or breach of any applicable law or regulation, including regulation in relation to financial services or the distribution of financial products, defamation, data protection, telecommunications (including regulations relating to excessive use, spamming or other abusive activities) or obscene, offensive or illegal content). Under no circumstances will the Company be liable for any loss or damage caused by a member's reliance on information obtained through the Service. It is the responsibility of member to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content available through the Service. Please seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding the evaluation of any specific information, opinion, advice or other content.
Read the full Member Agreement
http://www.zawya.com/legal/NewsLetter.cfm?name=disclaimer
More News in Islamic Finance
Loading ...
Post a Comment
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse.