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Brian Shonubi

Of Counsel

Dubai +971 4 247 2123

  • About
  • Representative Matters
  • Credentials
  • About

    Brian is an English law and Ugandan law qualified banking and finance lawyer. His practice covers cross-border finance and emerging markets work primarily in Africa, including Europe, the Middle East and India. Brian has over a decade and a half of experience advising on project finance; structured finance; acquisition finance, syndicated lending, and cross border regulatory law. As part of the Loan Market Association’s (LMA) Africa documentation drafting committee Brian has facilitated training and led in the drafting of the LMA East Africa, Nigeria and Zambia Single Currency Secured and Unsecured Term Facilities Agreement and the Africa Security Agreement for use in Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

    Brian mainly advises on English law transactions for inbound funds into Africa where he has built up a wealth of practical experience doing transactions across the various African legal systems including in Anglophone, Francophone, Lusophone and Roman-Dutch jurisdictions. Brian advises lenders, investors, sovereigns and sponsors across a range of sectors including: financial institutions; energy; infrastructure, mining and commodities; transport; technology; telecoms; and life sciences and healthcare. His clients include large financial institutions (insurance companies, commercial banks and DFI’s), non-bank lenders, governments and government agencies, large corporates, sponsors, and SMEs.

    As part of the cross border-finance team, Brian focuses on lender facing work, including American and European financings and investments in Africa and the Middle East and Middle Eastern financings and investments in Africa.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Practices and Industries
  • Representative Matters
    • Advising RTI International as implementer of USAID’s Power Africa Off-Grid Project; and the Power Africa East Africa Energy Program (active across 10 countries: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda). Power Africa aims to expand affordable and reliable electricity services in Africa, with the stated goal of supporting development priorities, including inclusive economic growth, security, and improved health and education outcomes. The advice included policy and regulatory review in collaboration with the host governments as well recommendations for reform or design and capacity building, and transactional advice.
    • Advising Nedbank Limited on a US$115 facility to a Tanzanian mining company (which is a subsidiary of a listed global South African based mining company) in relation to its investment in gold mining in Tanzania. This transaction was awarded Local Currency Loan Deal of the Year as awarded by Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Africa Awards 2019.
    • Advising DEG and FMO on the GTR Deal of the Year (South Africa) 2016 – on the financing of Beefmaster Holdings (South Africa).
    • Advising on the first-in-country PPP development of the 37MW Mariental solar photovoltaic power plant in Namibia involving Alten, Nampower, Proparco and The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited. The transaction required some innovative structuring around tenor limitations; inclusion of Formerly Disadvantaged Namibians; and multiple jurisdictions covering Africa and Europe.
    • Advising a syndicate of banks including ABSA, Barclays Uganda and Standard Chartered Bank in connection with the US$100 million debt financing of MTN Uganda. The deal won project finance deal of the year Africa TMT by Euromoney.
    • Acting for The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) in relation to the US$100 million term facility for the engineering, construction, procurement, delivery, installation and commissioning of the Kafue Gorge Lower Hydro Power Plant in Zambia.
    • Acting for Absa/Barclays Group in relation to (i) the Republic of Ghana's US$686 million sovereign promissory note program for the financing of the construction of seven civilian and military hospitals by Euroget De-Invest SA in Ghana, (ii) the direct and indirect participation by banks and other institutional investors in that program through complex structured PN agency and intercreditor arrangements and (iii) the back to back credit linked note (CLN) program on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
    • Advising the Ugandan Government on behalf of the Uganda Police Force on a PPP project for construction of training facilities and barracks for policemen.
    • Advising Barclays Bank Plc; BNP Paribas; Citibank; DBS Bank (the largest bank in Southeast Asia by assets); Japanese Bank, Mizuho Bank Ltd; Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation; Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG Bank – the largest bank in Japan); and HSBC on a series of separate corporate term loan facility transactions in the telecoms industry in India and Africa worth over US$1.5 billion.

    • Advising the IFC on the real-estate financing of a mixed-use development offering retail, commercial and entertainment leisure facilities in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
    • Advising a San Francisco-based investment advisor and investment fund in relation to the part financing (senior and mezzanine) of a US$195 million Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) led corporate facility to a South African borrower.
    • Advising The Standard bank of South Africa Limited in relation to a ZAR1.5 billion and US$65 million corporate facility to a South African based Pan-African infrastructure-focused group operating in multiple sectors, including power, mining, logistics and waste management.
    • Advising the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, in relation to a five-year loan of N$180 million to Purros Investments (Proprietary) Limited, a special purpose vehicle created to support employee share ownership in Standard Bank Namibia Holdings Limited (SBNH), the holding company of Standard Bank Namibia.
    • Advising on Barclays on a US$120 million multi-currency facility to Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) B.V. for its African incorporated subsidiaries in Uganda, Ghana and Tanzania.
    • Advising a large international bank on the refinancing of a US$120 million English law collateral backed and overdraft facility across 12 African jurisdictions and the United Arab Emirates.
    • Advising China Development Bank on the US$650 million senior credit facility and the US$200 million bridge facilities in respect of the Bakubung Platinum Mine formerly known as the Frischgewaagd-Ledig project, in South Africa.

    Areas of Expertise

  • Credentials
    Education
    • Nottingham Trent University, BVC, 2006
    • University of Warwick, LL.B., 2005
    Bar Admissions
    • England and Wales
    • High Court of the Republic of Uganda
    Judicial Clerkship
    • Judge Jonathan Teare and Judge Dudley Bennet, Nottingham Crown Court, Nottingham, England, 2006
    Languages
    • English
    • Luganda/Lusoga
    Pro Bono
    • Head, pro bono: Covington Johannesburg Diversity and Inclusion Committee
    • Lead counsel in advising Talanton LLC, an impact investment fund in relation to its investment in:
      • BURN Manufacturing Co., a vertically integrated modern cookstove company in sub-Saharan Africa which focuses on clean cooking as a key driver of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) success. More than 800,000+ households benefit from BURN’s super fuel-efficient biomass appliances in East Africa https://www.talantonllc.com/post/burn-manufacturing
      • Moko Home and Living, a Kenyan mattress and home furnishing manufacturer and retailer in Kenya serving the rising African market with quality, affordable furniture at scale.Moko distributes materials and finances to the supply chain to 200 micro enterprises across Kenya, indirectly serving many of the 130,000 people employed in Kenya’s informal furniture sector https://www.talantonllc.com/post/new-investment-moko-home-living
      • Rabonni Group Ltd. a Ugandan maize sourcing, milling and distribution business which supports over 2,000 corn and soy farmers plus 26 full time and 63 seasonal workers https://www.talantonllc.com/post/new-uganda-relationship-rabboni
    Accolades
    • IFRL1000 rankings 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 - Notable Practitioner, Banking & Finance and Projects.
    Memberships and Affiliations
    • Honourable Society of the Middle Temple (United Kingdom)
    • The Bar Council
    • Uganda Law Society
    • East African Law Society
    • The Loan Market Association (LMA) Africa documentation drafting committee
    Previous Experience
    • Covington & Burling (Pty) Ltd – Consultant and Independent Contractor December 2019 to April 2024, Johannesburg, South Africa
    • Standard Chartered Bank: In-house Legal Secondee – Wholesale Banking: February 2013 – February 2014, Johannesburg, South Africa
    • Sucafina S.A. (Commodities Trading House) Legal, trading and logistics trainee: July - September 2004 and July - September 2003, Geneva, Switzerland

    Areas of Expertise

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