Indira Birkwood

Practice Areas

Indira Birkwood is a highly regarded finance lawyer with a bespoke transactional practice, built over many years advising clients globally and is consistently recognised by the leading legal directories. She is a trusted advisor to leading onshore law firms, major international financial institutions, multinational corporations and real estate investment companies and is known for delivering complex, high-value financing transactions with precision and commercial insight.

Her practice spans the full spectrum of financing work, with particular strength in cross-border structured finance, real estate finance, emerging market debt, structured and asset finance, project finance, capital markets, Islamic finance and acquisition finance. Indira is frequently instructed on technically complex and time-sensitive transactions where BVI law plays a critical role. She also has extensive experience in working on general property transactions involving BVI companies.

Career

Before joining Spencer West in July 2024, Indira spent 26 years at Harneys, including a decade based in the BVI and 16 years in London. During that time, she led the firm’s BVI banking and finance practice for the EMEA region, playing a central role in building its market reputation and acting on some of its most significant and high-value matters.

Publications

https://worldfinancialreview.com/registering-security-interests-created-by-bvi-business-companies-bcs-in-the-british-virgin-islands-bvi/

https://www.iflr.com/article/2a63733ixysbvclfeo9hu/the-lenders-holy-grail

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=8c6e26da-4185-4605-b962-559b808d01de

Work Highlights

Advising the world’s largest export-focused nitrogen fertiliser platform and the largest producer in the Middle East and North Africa, with a combined production capacity of 6.5 million tons of urea and merchant ammonia, on the refinancing of an up to USD 900,000,000 bridge loan facility and the amendment and restatement of a USD 300,000,000 revolving credit facility.

Advising Delancey on its £250,000,000 refinancing of Here East, the former Press and Broadcast Centres for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Advising a BVI Issuer on the issue of US$500 million 1.875 per cent notes due 2030, issued under the US$5 billion MTN Programme, unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by the Issuer’s parent.

Advising a BVI Issuer on its issue of US$750 million 2.125 per cent Guaranteed Notes due 2030 and US$250 million 2.500 per cent Guaranteed Notes, issued under its US$4.5 billion MTN Programme, unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by the Issuer’s Hong Kong parent.

Advising on US$500 million perpetual subordinated guaranteed capital securities issued by a BVI company and unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by a Hong Kong company.

Advising a consortium on its sale of a mixed-use commercial property in the City of London to a Hong Kong-based investment holding company for £94.2 million.

Advising Reynolds Group Holdings Limited and Closure Systems International in connection with the BVI elements of Cerberus Capital Management’s acquisition, through an affiliate, of CSI’s North American, Costa Rican, and Japanese businesses and related facilities from Reynolds Group.

Advising an investor in energy and utility-related businesses, with investments in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution; renewable energy; energy from waste; gas distribution; and oil transmission, on the establishment of a US$2 billion Medium Term Programme (listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange) by a BVI Issuer, unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by its Hong Kong parent.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

British Virgin Islands

Languages Spoken

English

Education