Sara, a partner based in London, is a project development and finance expert within our Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure team. Her practice is diverse, covering an array of sectors including mining, infrastructure, energy, and transport. She represents a varied clientele, including lenders, sponsors, borrowers, vendors, bidders, and JV partners, and oversees an assortment of transactions such as project finance, project development, JV arrangements, tenders, restructurings, and M&A.

She specialises in the mining & metals sector, emphasising its significance in the transition to sustainable energy, and has represented major players in the field. Additionally, she has also spent time on secondment in an in-house role at a global mining group.

Before joining Simmons & Simmons, Sara spent 10 years at a magic circle law firm in London, and has been recognised by Chambers and Partners in the projects category for consecutive years, highlighting her significant expertise in the field of international project development and financing.

“She has the rare perfect mix of a superior command of project finance structures, strategic thinking, unbeatable negotiation skills and the ability to push things forward.” Client Quote - Chambers and Partners

Sara's international qualifications underscore her global perspective and ability to navigate complex cross-border transactions. She is triple-qualified in Istanbul, England and Wales, and New York, offering a unique blend of legal insight across different jurisdictions. From a regional perspective, she has a wide coverage, with a strong track record in the Middle East and in emerging markets. Having started out her career at a prominent Turkish law firm, and with thanks to her background and qualification in Turkiye, she has particular expertise in the Turkish market.

She has also developed extensive experience working with development financial institutions and ECAs in numerous projects, having spent 2 years in an in-house role at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development - a role that provided her with invaluable experience and insights into the financing of energy and infrastructure projects from an in-house perspective.

Sara’s experience includes advising:

• Alcoa Corporation on its joint venture arrangements with Ma’aden in KSA, as well as several rounds of refinancings.
• Rio Tinto, as part of a 9 month secondment, including two months on the ground in Mongolia, on its negotiations with the Mongolian government for the multi-billion USD Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine.
• Various DFIs and ECAs (mix of EBRD, IFC, DFC, EDC, BSTDB, SACE) and Sponsors (DIA) on the project financing and subsequent restructurings for various hospital PPPs (Etlik, Izmir, Kocaeli, Bilkent) in Turkiye.
• Standard Chartered Bank, Societe Generale and other lenders on project financing for the construction of Salalah LPG plant in Oman (awarded MENA Midstream Oil & Gas Deal of the Year by IJ Global).
• A Middle Eastern Sovereign Wealth Fund on an M&A transaction for the acquisition of stakes in a minerals sector holding company with various assets across the EV value chain.