Martin Shah

Recent Work

• advising The British Land Company PLC, a FTSE 100 real estate investment trust, in connection with a number of landmark financing transactions, including its securitisations of the Broadgate Estate, London, the Meadowhall Shopping Centre, Sheffield and a portfolio of UK superstores and the subsequent creation of joint ventures over the equity interest in each of these three asset pools. Most recently, Martin advised British Land on its £2.2bn joint venture with Blackstone investment funds relating to Broadgate, including undertaking a major pre-joint venture reorganisation, structuring the joint venture to comply with REIT requirements and related changes to the £2bn securitisation over the bulk of the joint venture assets and a further restructuring of the joint venture and securitisation to facilitate the development of UBS's new London headquarters building
• advising BlueCrest Capital Management, one of Europe's largest hedge fund managers, on the reorganisation of its business, including the establishment of a new group head office in Guernsey and the opening of a trading centre in Geneva, Switzerland
• acting for The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Limited on its participation in the successful £4.9bn contested offer by way of scheme of arrangement by a subsidiary of Pearl Assurance plc for Resolution plc
• acting for a number of the leading European and US traditional and alternative asset managers on tax structuring matters for their funds and investment management businesses, in particular, in respect of structuring investments in illiquid asset classes

General Experience

Martin’s broad based practice encompasses corporate, financial markets, real estate (including structured real estate) and commercial work, with an emphasis on clients in the financial institutions and TMT sectors. His focus includes advising on funds and other investment products, together with structural tax issues for banking, asset management and insurance clients.

Martin also has wide ranging experience in structuring outsourcing arrangements in the financial sector, advising both banks, insurers and asset managers on IT and business process outsourcing.

Martin is rated in the latest Legal 500 (an "excellent all-rounder") and Chambers directories ("continues to impress") for corporate tax and endorsed by PLC Which Lawyer?.

Background

Martin qualified as a solicitor at Simmons & Simmons in 2000 and became a partner in 2008.

He is a regular participant at the Investment Management Association and Alternative Investment Management Association, and participates in the latter organisation’s Tax Committee. He also led the AIMA working group on the European Savings Directive.

Martin is a member of the HM Treasury Islamic Finance Technical Working Group, which meets on a regular basis to consider developments in UK tax law to facilitate the growth of alternative finance in the UK market.

Martin is a member of the VAT and Duties Sub-Committee of the Law Society of England and Wales, and regularly participates on behalf of the Law Society and clients in discussions with HM Revenue & Customs on VAT matters.