Ashurst boosts Middle East project finance offering with partner hire in Saudi Arabia

Global law firm Ashurst announces the appointment of project finance lawyer Nezar Al Abbas as partner in the projects & energy transition team, based in Riyadh, building on the firm’s rapidly expanding Saudi Arabia offering.

With over 15 years in the Middle East, Nezar advises on project finance and a range of other finance transactions. He has advised on a variety of major project and construction finance transactions, advising both borrowers and lenders. In addition, Nezar has a wide-ranging finance capability across syndicated lending and structured finance, including Islamic finance products.

Commenting, David Charlier, Middle East managing partner and co-head, projects & energy transition (EMEA), said: “Saudi Arabia is experiencing exceptional momentum in energy and infrastructure investment across both the public and private sectors, underpinned by Vision 2030. Nezar’s arrival will build on our well-established Saudi projects and project finance practice and position us to continue to deliver large-scale projects across the Kingdom.”

“The Saudi legal market continues to expand rapidly, amid an evolving regulatory landscape and increasing demand for sophisticated financing and advisory services,” Faisal Baassiri, managing partner of Ashurst's Saudi offices, added. “Nezar's deep understanding of the Saudi market, coupled with his strong track record advising financial institutions, will further build on our Saudi finance capability and enhance our ability to meet clients' needs in this dynamic environment.”

Nezar Al Abbas said: “The Ashurst Middle East platform has gone from strength-to-strength in the past few years, particularly in Riyadh where it has seen an exciting growth trajectory. I look forward to partnering with the well-respected team to deliver on transactions that advance our clients’ strategic objectives in the Kingdom.”

Ashurst continues to build out its KSA offering, with recent strategic additions including finance regulatory partner Raheel Butt and the relocations of Martyn Rogers, a senior banking partner with over 30 years experience, and Tammam Kaissi, an Arabic speaking disputes partner. Ashurst’s Middle East team has more than doubled to over 20 partners in under two years.