Ashurst, Clydes and Freshfields aid UAE AIM float

Ashurst, Clyde & Co and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have all won roles on the first AIM flotation of a company that is fully based in the UAE.

Sharjah-headquarted Lamprell instructed its longstanding advisers, Clyde & Co, for its listing in which it hopes to raise £300m. This will make it the third-largest flotation that AIM has seen.

Although i-mate, which is officially based in Dubai, floated last September on AIM for £249m, Lamprell is the first company to float that has operations on the ground in the UAE. i-mate is registered in the country but does not do business there.

The client-relationship partner at Clydes, Jonathan Silver, leads the team along with Catherine Moss out of the firm’s Dubai office. The team will also be advising the company’s sole shareholder, Steven Lamprell, on selling part of his 100 percent stake as part of the IPO. Lamprell, which provides services to the offshore oil and gas industry, has been a Clydes client for over 20 years.

The Clydes team is advising on both UK and UAE aspects, as there is expected to be regulatory issues in the UAE. Freshfields is also representing Lamprell in the UK. Bruce Embley is leading the team.

Ashurst is advising Lamprell’s nomad and broker JPMorgan Cazenove.