International law firms DLA Piper and Clifford Chance have advised on a 3.7 billion riyals ($1.02 billion) Islamic financing to develop the Doha Festival City. The Festival City is one of the largest multiuse developments in Qatar with a total project value of around six billion riyals.
DLA Piper Middle East acted through its offices in Doha, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi to advise the Bawabat Al Shamal Real Estate Company (Basrec) on the financing, and provided specialist Islamic finance, development financing, as well as corporate and local real estate advice. The financing package is the largest private sector financing in Qatar.
Clifford Chance advised the lenders on the deal. The Commercial Bank of Qatar, the Doha Bank, the Ahli Bank, the Al Khalij Commercial Bank, the International Bank of Qatar, and the Qatar National Bank will fund the commercial facility, with the Barwa Bank and the Qatar International Islamic Bank funding the Islamic facility. QInvest acted as financial adviser and bookrunner, with the Commercial Bank of Qatar and the Barwa Bank as mandated lead arrangers.
“The Doha Festival City will be one of the most innovative and impressive multiuse projects within easy reach of downtown Doha, and when completed, will have a huge impact on the city itself," said Catherine McDougall, Abu Dhabi-based senior legal consultant with the finance and projects firm at the firm. "Developments of this scale and complexity require advisers that have a deep sector and local knowledge in order to predict, and overcome, any challenges, and we are delighted to advise Basrec on this landmark transaction."
The DLA Piper Middle East team was coordinated and led by McDougall, who advised the real estate company on the commercial terms of the financing along with Dubai-based finance and projects legal director Paul McViety, who led the team advising on the Islamic and intercreditor aspects of the financing. The wider team included Tom O'Grady, the Doha office managing partner, Brenda Hill, Andre Saade, Tala-Sarah Eavis and Jenna Darler.
The Clifford Chance team, meanwhile, was led by partner and global head of Islamic Finance, Qudeer Latif, and Greg Englefield, head of finance at the Clifford Chance Doha office. They were supported by senior associate Robin Balmer, and associates Hussain Shalchi and Elias Moubarak. Support was also provided by London-based senior associate Shauaib Mirza.
The Doha Festival City is owned and being developed by Basrec, which was formed by investors from the Al Futtaim Real Estate Services, the Qatar Islamic Bank, Aqar Real Estate Development and Investment, and a private Qatari investor. The complex is being constructed on a 433, 847 square metres plot, which will include 260,000 square metres of gross leasable retail space offering over 500 retail units. These retail units are slated to introduce a large number of new brands in Qatar.
Shaheen Pasha is Middle East Regional Editor at ALB. Follow us on Twitter: @ALB_TheBrief.
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