Africa

The desk covers the full spectrum of legal services from dispute resolution and international arbitration, corporate and M&A, to capital markets, real estate, construction and infrastructure projects.

We help clients manage risk and achieve long-term success in Africa’s key growth sectors. Our team has worked in many of Africa’s most active sectors, including energy and natural resources, construction, infrastructure, banking, insurance and private wealth.

We understand that Africa is not one market but many, with diverse cultures, languages and legal and regulatory regimes. Our longstanding relationships with leading African law firms across the Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone regions means we can provide on the ground support wherever our clients need it.

Find out more about our South Africa team’s experience here.

Some members of our Desk are African dual-qualified lawyers, who have lived and worked across Africa, bringing an in-depth legal and commercial understanding of both African and UK markets.

Get in touch to learn more about our Africa Desk.

• Representing the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria in different sets of enforcement proceedings over several years including proceedings in the UK Court of Appeal [2020] EWCA Civ 1585 and the Supreme Court [2022] (UKSC 16) whereby the Supreme Court (UKSC) set the precedence in civil proceedings with regards to the test for re-opening judgments before they are sealed.
• Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)- advised the NNPC on a commercial arbitration proceeding on oil lifting entitlement disputes on a production sharing contract with a Chinese state-owned company on OML-130.
• Disease Management Services plc – software licensing and services arrangements with its South African subsidiary for the provision of mobile web–based health care services in remote and deprived areas.
• Splendid Hotel Group partnership – £160m reorganisation of a portfolio of eight branded and two unbranded central London hotels whereby one existing partner of the group acquired five hotels from the partnership and the remaining five were sold to Redefine International of South Africa.
• DiamondTech – admission to trading on AIM. The company acquired Earlyworx Ltd, a South African company with rights to a new technology to detect diamonds in the tailings from mines.
• Beaumont Cornish Limited – acting as PLUS corporate adviser and AIM nominated adviser and broker to General Industries Plc in relation to General Industries’ acquisition of Skiptons Global Investment Limited and on the admission of General Industries’ share capital to trading on AIM.
• Random House – merger of Random House South Africa and Struik Publishers. The new company, known as Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd, brings together two of South Africa’s most prominent book publishers and creates a significant new player in the African book publishing business.
• South African entrepreneur – advising this entrepreneur looking to exploit pharmaceutical products.
• Federal Republic of Nigeria – advised and coordinated Nigeria’s defence strategy in the defence of a US$ 11 billion arbitral award in favour of a British Virgin Island (BVI) entity, P&ID on a failed 20-year gas supply and processing agreement. The defence was across multiple jurisdictions including, the United States, United Kingdom, BVI and Nigeria.
• Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC)- advised GNPC on a $7.9billion integrated oil and gas infrastructure project including the combined development of the Sankofa Main, Sankofa East, Gye Nyame and Sankofa East Campanian fields.
• Duke Oil Service (UK) Limited- advised Duke Oil, a UK crude oil trading subsidiary of the Nigerian national oil company.

• Defending enforcement proceedings in the English courts
• Advising on major oil and gas infrastructure projects
• Acting for reinsurer in political risk coverage dispute following losses suffered as a consequence of the 2021 Zuma riots in South Africa
• Acted for Shanta Gold Limited on various financings in respect of its gold mine operations in East Africa
• Acted for a listed, Africa-focused oil and gas development, production and exploration company, whose aim is to build a range of diversified producing and development assets on a US$10m murabaha financing, secured on assets across Africa
• Acting for an Oil & Gas exploration company in connection with its arbitration claim for breaches of production sharing agreements by a sub-Saharan African state, resulting in an award of over $600 million in the client’s favour.
• Acting for a listed energy provider with interests in Russia and Africa in the defence of two international arbitration claims brought by its JV partner and with an alleged value of approximately US$55 million. The claims are for breaches of the concession and participation agreements arising from executing an upstream drilling program in Africa.