Islamic Finance team top-off USD8 billion year with Euromoney crown

The judging panel were "extremely impressed by the strong year the firm has enjoyed" - one in which Denton Wilde Sapte completed a string of high profile Islamic Finance transactions with a total value of more than US$8 billion.

These included advising Dubai Islamic Bank and Barclays Capital on a US$2.8 billion sukuk to part finance Dubai Ports World's takeover bid for P&O, advising Dubai Islamic Bank on the US$1.9 billion capitalisation of property investment company Al Burj Real Estate Limited, the US$1 billion Dubai Department of Civil Aviation sukuk and a US$550 million sukuk for Emirates Airlines.

"Islamic Finance is an area that has gone from strength-to-strength in the past two years and this award cements our place at the forefront of the industry," says Denton Wilde Sapte CEO Howard Morris.

"We have an excellent team of Islamic Finance lawyers across our Gulf and London offices, and with the credentials and momentum they have achieved we are extremely confident that they will have an even better year in 2006."

Key members of the firm's Islamic Finance practice include London partners Paul Holland, Farmida Bi and Matthew Sapte, along with Gulf partners Rahail Ali (Dubai) and Richard de Belder (Abu Dhabi), and Dubai-based senior solicitor Rustum Shah.