Chris Harran focuses his practice on investment funds, corporate and structured finance matters and tax and structure planning.
Mr. Harran’s experience includes advising clients in relation to investment funds, private equity and investment structures and portfolio company transactions, including advising promoters and investors in the structuring, establishment, operation and promotion of investment funds and investment structures. He also advises on asset management and investment advisory relationships and on financial services regulation throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Prior to joining Dechert, Mr. Harran served as a local partner in the Dubai office of an international law firm. Previously he worked at an international offshore law firm based in the Channel Islands and in the financial services group of a major law firm in London.
Significant Representations
- The venture capital arm of a large Russian bank and a Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)-based asset manager on a joint sponsored parallel investment structure in the Russian Federation (a Russian-domiciled ZPIF); an English Limited Partnership for investments into Russia; and co-investment and co-management arrangements with anchor investment from two CIS sovereign wealth funds*
- An Abu Dhabi investment house on its cornerstone investment of US$300 million into an energy infrastructure fund domiciled in the Cayman Islands*
- A UK-based hedge fund manager on the establishment of a DIFC-domiciled hedge fund*
- A U.S. government agency on proposed investment in various investment vehicles sponsored by asset managers/fund promoters in the MENA region; on investor due diligence, structuring, and negotiation of the investment terms*
- Advice and assistance on various regulatory and authorisation applications for asset management and corporate advisory firms, banks, and broker-dealers with the UAE Central Bank, Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and Central Bank of Bahrain*
- Establishment of a series of investment funds in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for a Lebanese bank for both private and public offerings across various asset classes*
- A Malaysian-based financial services group on the establishment of a Shari’a-compliant dual DIFC fund structure for GCC and non-GCC investors for investment into the GCC region*
- A UK-based asset manager on the establishment of a Cayman Islands opportunistic private equity fund with a seeding value of US$100 million*
- A large New York-based private equity firm on the offering of securities and investment funds throughout the MENA region*
- Advice on the promotion and marketing of investment funds and other investment products in the MENA region (including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Oman)*
- A UK investment bank on the establishment of a Shari’a-compliant precious metals fund domiciled in the Cayman Islands with a focus on gold trading*
- The asset management arm of a major Saudi Arabian bank on the establishment of a private equity investment fund targeting the MENA region with a closing value of US$250 million*
- A Lebanese asset manager on the establishment of a Saudi Arabian Shari’a real estate fund in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with a target fund raise of US$150 million*
- A GCC-based investment bank on the establishment of a Cayman-domiciled fund of funds with a feeder fund, targeting distressed opportunities within the private equity sector in the MENA region*
- A large MENA-based investment institution on a US$80 million investment in a distressed real estate fund in Bahrain*
- A UK-based investment house on the establishment of various Cayman-domiciled funds with a focus on the secondaries markets*
- A Bahrain-based investment house on the establishment of a US$300 million Shari’a-compliant aviation fund in Bahrain*
*Matter handled prior to joining Dechert
Education
University of Stirling, B.A. (Hons), 1994
University of the West of England, Post-graduate Diploma, 1996
The College of Law, London, CPE, 1997
The College of Law, London, LPC, 1998
Bar Admissions/Qualifications
Solicitor, England and Wales
Memberships
Law Society of England & Wales