Philip is a bilingual (English/French) solicitor of the Senior Courts of England & Wales who currently practises in South Africa and Eswatini. His initial legal career experience of over ten years was gained in London and Paris. Thereafter, on moving to South Africa (initially with White & Case), he has advised on, and continues to advise on, various M&A and utilities-related projects. Such projects involve past and present assignments in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) (commercial property, thermal power plant, and power purchase agreement); Madagascar (aviation privatisation); Mozambique (Maputo port privatisation; Nacala port oil and gas); Uganda (electricity privatisation); South Africa (water privatisation, insurance and reinsurance, and mining); the Democratic Republic of the Congo (mining); and Zimbabwe (railway privatisation).
His expertise is notably called upon in the areas of cross-border, limited recourse project financing, as such finance relates to build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) inward investment projects. The finance for such projects is sourced primarily from China, the UK, Europe, and the USA.
Philip gained his in-depth experience in the aforementioned fields within the corporate, commercial property, and property finance departments of reputable ‘blue-chip’ legal firms such as Norton Rose Fulbright (UK), White & Case (USA), LeBoeuf, Lamb, Faskens (Canada), and as Senior In-House Counsel, advising on international financial banking matters in the headquarters of leading banks such as NatWest Securities Limited (London, England), Société Générale S.A., and Société Générale Energie S.A. (Paris, France).
Philip continues to advise banks and financial institutions. He has provided legal advice over the years to numerous banks and commercial institutions in trade finance and project finance. These include Chinese banks and state-owned institutions, NatWest Securities Limited, Société Générale S.A., Société Générale Energie S.A. (Paris, France), the Development Bank of Southern Africa Limited (DBSA), BNP, Barclays, ABSA Bank Limited, Investec, Nova Capital Partners, Deutsche Bank, HSBC Investment Services (Africa) (Proprietary) Limited, HSBC Equator Bank, JP Morgan, Morgan Grenfell, the Standard Bank of South Africa Limited, Standard Chartered Bank Zambia PLC, the IFC, and the World Bank, notably the privatisation unit responsible for Africa and the Indian Ocean.
Various articles written by Philip have been published in respected legal journals.
Relevant experience:
Cross-Border Project Finance & M&A:
- Advised Transnet International Holdings and South African banks on a $400M railway investment in Zimbabwe and Zambia (2019–2020).
- Advised DBSA and Rand Merchant Bank on a 74M ZAR industrial water treatment project in South Africa (1999–2000).
- Project finance and PPP advice to Eskom on investment structures for the Nigerian electricity market (2001–2002).
- Advised Nacala Power Lda on a $1B gas power station and LNG hub in Mozambique (2012–present).
- Counsel to Namibia’s Ministry of Mines and Energy on the $1B Nampower ‘Kudu’ gas project (2001).
- Led project finance advisory for a €20B non-recourse power station investment in Eswatini (2020–present).
Banking, Capital Markets & Insurance:
- Advised DBSA on a 1B ZAR fixed-rate bond issue managed by JP Morgan and Standard Corporate and Merchant Bank (1998–1999).
- Counsel to MEARC Management (Lloyds-backed MGA) on underwriting agreements with London brokers and Aspen Re (2016–2018).
- Advised Coniston Capital Partners on mine liability rehabilitation insurance (2014–present).
Corporate & Regulatory Advisory:
- Legal advisor to South Africa’s National Department of Human Settlements (2018–2021).
- Assisted Questar Holdings with a $60M cross-border JV for digital payments in Africa (2020–2021).
- Advised Equatorial Guinea’s government on the formation of a national petroleum company (2001).
- Advised Ivanhoe Mines on project finance structuring for mining JV in the DRC and Gabon (2013–2015).