I am pleased to let you know that Bowmans received three awards at the prestigious African Legal Awards hosted by Legal Week and the Corporate Lawyers Association of South Africa in Johannesburg on Friday (9 September 2016).

We were shortlisted in 12 different categories and received the awards for Banking, Finance and Restructuring Team of the Year, Employment Team of the Year, and Property Team of the Year. We were also “highly commended” in two categories – African Law Firm of the Year and IP Team of the Year.

We won the Banking, Finance and Restructuring Team of the Year Award for our work advising longstanding client, Mara Delta Property Holdings, in its key strategic investment to acquire the Anfa Place Shopping Centre in Morocco.

The Employment Team of the Year Award was for acting as lead counsel to SABMiller in the formation of Africa’s largest Coca-Cola bottler – Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA). CCBA was formed by combining the African non-alcoholic ready-to-drink bottling interests of SABMiller plc, The Coca-Cola Company, and Gutsche Family Investments.

The Property Team of the Year Award was for advising Old Mutual Property in its financing of the Two Rivers Lifestyle Centre which constructed the Two Rivers Mall and Office Tower in Nairobi.

The news follows closely on the announcement of our new brand name and is confirmation that our integrated approach to serving clients as one firm across the continent is delivering top-class results.

A major feature of the awards is the credibility of the judging process – the winners are decided by an independent panel consisting of senior members of the legal community. Judging criteria included: legal expertise and innovation, project management skills, teamwork and client satisfaction.

Please join me in congratulating all those who advised on the matters that were short-listed as well as those who advised on the winning matters.

Kind regards,
Rob Legh
Chairman and Senior Partner