Benelux leader Loyens in Islamic finance push

Loyens & Loeff has launched an Islamic finance practice – in a move thought to make Loyens the first Benelux firm to target the sector with a dedicated team.

The launch follows the hire of Islamic finance specialist Marjorie Sinke, who joined Loyens as of counsel in February to head up the new team. Sinke – a former judge at The Hague – joins Loyens after running her own Islamic finance consultancy. She was also previously an associate at Benelux giant Stibbe.

Sinke, who is based in the firm’s Amsterdam branch, will lead a team of around a dozen lawyers across Loyens’ network of offices, which includes an outpost in Dubai. The group will advise on banking and finance, international taxation, real estate and funds structuring.

The Benelux firm announced the opening of its Dubai arm in November last year. The new branch became the firm’s 11th office outside its Benelux heartlands, including offices in Singapore and Tokyo.

The news comes with a clutch of major UK firms actively targeting the Islamic finance sector. Last week Norton Rose advised on the first-ever listing of a sovereign sukuk bond on the London Stock Exchange, with the top 10 City firm acting for the Kingdom of Bahrain, a longstanding Norton Rose client, on the issue of its £176.8m al-Ijara bond