Stephenson Harwood wins two awards at the IFLR Middle East Awards 2025
Stephenson Harwood has won two awards at the IFLR Middle East Awards 2025, which celebrate legal innovation and achievements across the GCC region’s private practice and in-house legal community.
The firm won the ‘Net-Zero Transition’ award, recognising its work on several significant transactions over the past year. Highlights include:
- Advising Esyasoft Holding Ltd, a Dubai-based software-as-a-service products and solutions technology company specialising in providing smart grid solutions within the energy, water, and utilities sectors, on its acquisition of a 70% stake in Float IoT, an innovative Internet of Things (IoT) company located in the Netherlands;
- Advising Yellow Door Energy on a multi-million term loan financing facility with the Arab Banking Corporation for the refinancing of 25 operational solar PV projects, totalling over 42MW across the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman; and
- Advising a leading regional bank on a pioneering AAOIFI-compliant, sustainability-linked term facility for a major Saudi food industry client. The hybrid long-short Murabaha structure will fund a new processing line project and is among the first sustainability-linked Islamic financings in Saudi Arabia’s food sector, combining Sharia principles with ESG goals.
“The Net-Zero Transition award highlights our leadership role in advancing impactful projects that accelerate the shift towards a cleaner economy,” said Iwan Walters, Partner in the Middle East Projects, Energy and Infrastructure team. “This recognition reflects our global team’s commitment to guiding clients through the challenges of decarbonisation and sustainable growth across the Middle East and beyond.”
Stephenson Harwood also won the ‘Project Finance Deal of the Year’ award for its role in the landmark Hafeet Rail Project - the GCC’s first cross border rail network, connecting the UAE and Oman and linking major ports and industrial zones. Led by Tammy Samuel, Global Head of Rail and Roads and Head of KSA, the team advised one of the joint venture parties to Hafeet Rail Company, the entity established to develop rail infrastructure and services as part of the GCC rail network, on the Track Access Agreement to be entered into by the company with infrastructure manager Etihad Rail.
“The Middle East is undergoing a period of extraordinary transformation, where projects like the Hafeet Rail Project are setting new benchmarks for connectivity and sustainability across the region,” said Tammy Samuel, Head of Rail and Road and Head of KSA. “Our recent expansion into Saudi Arabia, with new offices in Riyadh and Al Khobar, reflects Stephenson Harwood’s long-standing commitment to the Middle East and our confidence in the region’s dynamic market. This award underscores our ability to combine international expertise with local insight, helping our clients achieve their strategic goals in one of the world’s most exciting and fast-evolving markets.”
