Simon has experience in a wide variety of banking and finance transactions, including structured trade finance, trade finance, commodity finance, insurance-backed finance, project finance, invoice discounting facilities, warehouse finance, supply chain finance, ECA finance and borrowing-base facilities.
He has advised on transactions across Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the CIS. His work in the structured trade arena covers a range of financings acting for both lenders and borrowers notably in the oil, telecoms, soft commodities and metals sectors. He has particular experience in Africa and in the Middle East, where he was based for four years. Simon also acts for industry bodies including the International Trade and Forfaiting Association (ITFA).
Participating in structured trade finance and project finance conferences and seminars throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa, he has spoken at structured trade finance conferences and seminars and general finance in London, Paris, Lisbon, Geneva, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, South Africa, Zambia, Uganda, Ghana, Nairobi and Dubai, as well as on PPP in South Africa, on project finance and structured trade finance at Afrexim's annual structured finance conferences in Egypt, Ghana, Zambia and South Africa.
A member of ITFA’s Executive Board, in 2021 Simon was appointed its Head of Education. In November 2019, Simon was re-appointed as one of just eight full voting members on the African Regional Committee, of which he was also a founding member in 2017.
Simon is included in the list of Leading Individuals in the Legal 500 UK, 2023 for Trade finance and in Tier 1 by Chambers UK, 2023 for Commodities: Trade finance.
Bar & Court Admissions
- Solicitor, Senior Courts of England and Wales
Education
- The College of Law, CPE
- University of Bristol, M.A., Ancient History
- University of Bristol, BA, (Hons) in Ancient History
Community Engagement
- Head of Education, Executive Board, International Trade and Forfaiting Association (ITFA) (2021)
- Voting Member, ITFA's African Regional Committee (2017)
Awards & Honors
- Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom, Commodities (2020-2023)
- Chambers UK, Commodities: Trade Finance (UK-wide) (2013-2023)
- The Legal 500 UK, Trade Finance - London - "Leading Individual" (2015-2023)
- Legal Media Group/Euromoney's ExpertGuides (2020)
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Press ReleaseJanuary 30, 2023
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Press ReleaseOctober 20, 2022
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Press ReleaseSeptember 28, 2022
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Press ReleaseJune 9, 2022
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Press ReleaseMay 5, 2022
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flowMarch 10, 2022
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ITFA NewsletterJanuary 26, 2022
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Press ReleaseDecember 14, 2021
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Press ReleaseOctober 21, 2021
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Press ReleaseOctober 14, 2021
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Press ReleaseSeptember 29, 2021
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Press ReleaseJune 3, 2021
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Press ReleaseOctober 22, 2020
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Press ReleaseOctober 1, 2020
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Legal Media Group / EuromoneySeptember 30, 2020
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INTO AfricaMay/June 2020
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Press ReleaseJune 9, 2020
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Global Trade Review, QuotedFebruary 26, 2020
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Global Trade Review, QuotedJanuary 22, 2020
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Global Trade Review, QuotedJanuary 8, 2020
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Sullivan Press ReleaseNovember 14, 2019
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Press ReleaseOctober 10, 2019
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September 27, 2019
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INTO AfricaJuly 8, 2019
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Sullivan Press ReleaseJune 28, 2019
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Sullivan Press ReleaseMay 3, 2019
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November 1, 2018
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October 30, 2018
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ITFA Africa Regional Committee NewsletterIssue 2, August 2018; September 2018
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Into AfricaAugust 14, 2018
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Press ReleaseFebruary 1, 2018
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Global Trade ReviewNovember 20, 2017
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TheGuardian [Nigeria], QuotedNovember 10, 2017
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Into AfricaOctober 2017
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The EURO-GCC Trade & Investment Guide 2017February 27, 2017
Seminars & Presentations
- Structuring Commodity and Trade Finance in Africa: an Expert Guide
(March 28, 2023) - Ensuring Food Security – A Renewed Priority
GTR MENA 2023, Dubai (February 22, 2023) - "Remember the 'S' in ESG – Making Sustainable Trade Finance Appropriate to Africa” and "In the Past and to the Future – Growing African Resilience to Seize Future Opportunities"
GTR Africa - 2022 London (November 2, 2022) - Building a Continental Trade Powerhouse: The Pivotal Role of Trade Finance in Delivering the Free Trade Area
GTR East Africa 2022 (June 21, 2022) - ITFA Year-End Market Update Seminar
International Trade and Forfaiting Association (December 6, 2021) - Closing the Trade Finance Gap – Innovative Tools and Future Challenges
Global Trade Review (GTR) - London, UK (December 3, 2021) - MENA-Africa Trade and Infrastructure – Fuelling ‘Disruptive’ Growth
Emirates Towers, Dubai (September 22, 2021) - Can Structured LCs Help Bridge the Trade Finance Gap in the East African Region?
GTR East Africa 2021 Virtual Conference (May 12, 2021) - Structuring Financings Using Physical Commodities and Documents Representing Them
Trade & Export Finance Webinar (February 25, 2021) - Only the Tip of the Iceberg — Can the South-South Trade Corridor Go Further?
GTR MENA 2021 (February 16, 2021) - The Changing Face of Africa-China Relations
GTR Africa 2020 Virtual (October 21, 2020) - Financing the Trade Ecosystem – Bringing Africa's Advantage to Bear
Global Trade Review (GTR) Virtual Event (October 1, 2020) - ITFA Africa Regional Committee Webinar
Virtual Program (June 30, 2020) - Is China’s increased presence in Africa ultimately a good thing?
GTR Africa 2020 (March 11, 2020) - GTR MENA 2020
Global Trade Review (February 17, 2020) - ITFA Emerging Leaders ESG Seminar and Networking
International Trade and Forfaiting Association (February 6, 2020) - Trade Finance update: recent developments affecting trade finance documentation
Le Restaurant de Paul, London (October 17, 2019) - Emerging Trends In the East African Trade Finance Sector
Global Trade Review East Africa 2019 (May 21, 2019) - Mauritius: A model of diversification
GTR Africa 2019 (March 14, 2019) - Payment Instruments and Other Trade Documentation – An Overview and Some Current Issues
Trade Finance Breakfast Seminar (February 28, 2019) - Structuring as a key enabler of trade finance
Agri African Investment Indaba and the Agri Trade Congress Africa (November 27, 2018) - Southern Africa Trade & Infrastructure Finance Conference
Global Trade Review (November 21, 2018) - Bills of Exchange, Promissory Notes and Other Independent Payment Undertakings
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1EN (8.45 - 10.00 am) (July 27, 2017) - Some of Those Annoying Technical Issues in Trade Finance
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1EN (January 26, 2017) - Payment Instruments and Other Trade-Related Documents
Pinners Hall, 105-108 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1EN (November 24, 2016)