Saudi Arabia

Our team in Riyadh combines extensive international experience with deep local understanding. Led by senior lawyers with a proven track record in Saudi Arabia, we offer strategic legal advice on corporate and commercial matters (including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, joint ventures), banking and finance matters (including debt capital markets), construction matters (both contentious and non-contentious), private wealth and regulatory compliance. We also have significant strength in the real estate sector, advising on project development, investment structuring, and real estate finance across commercial, residential, and mixed-use sectors. 

We maintain strong relationships with regulators, government bodies, and key stakeholders, and are well-positioned to guide clients through complex regulatory frameworks and commercial reforms. Our clients include major family-owned groups, multinational and conglomerate companies, regional and global banks, real estate developers, owners and operators, and ultra high net worth individuals.

Whether navigating investment structures, public-private partnerships, cross-border transactions, or emerging legal reforms, we work closely with our clients to understand their goals and deliver practical, forward-thinking solutions. Our Riyadh office is a key pillar in Trowers & Hamlins' regional strategy, strengthening our ability to serve clients with ambition, agility, and local insight.

Our expertise

We are particularly active in sectors central to Saudi Arabia’s diversification drive – including construction, energy and real estate development – and advise on some of the most ambitious projects taking shape in the Kingdom today.

Real estate 

Trowers & Hamlins has provided insights into Saudi Arabia's real estate sector transformations, particularly concerning foreign ownership laws and off-plan real estate regulations, contributing to the development of a robust legal framework for real estate investments. We frequently advise on community structuring for large-scale mixed-use and residential developments. We are also known for our expertise in the hotel and tourism sectors, having worked with numerous international luxury hotel operator brands, and furthermore are a trusted partner for investors considering real estate assets both within and outside of the region.

Construction, infrastructure and project finance

Our lawyers advise on significant infrastructure projects across the GCC and beyond, including the financing of power, water and civil infrastructure projects. We have worked on landmark public-private partnership (PPP) projects, including the revamp of the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, marking a significant milestone in Saudi Arabia's civil aviation history.

Disputes

Trowers acts seamlessly across borders in both English and Arabic, with extensive experience arbitrating at all the major arbitration institutions and in ad hoc proceedings. Following a successful multi-jurisdictional strategy and complex negotiations, we act as administrator and liquidator on one of the Middle East’s biggest ever corporate defaults following a highly sophisticated fraud. 

We represent developers, major international and domestic contractors, consultants and government clients in construction arbitral proceedings across the region, including proceedings before the Dubai International Financial Centre, Abu Dhabi Global Market, onshore United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Malaysia, Singapore and Saudi Arabian courts.

Corporate and commercial

Our team provides strategic legal advice on corporate and commercial matters, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, joint ventures, regulatory compliance, and technology law, supporting both local and international clients in navigating Saudi Arabia's evolving legal landscape.

Banking and finance

As a leading adviser on conventional and Islamic finance, we have been supporting clients on the structuring and financing of investments across all asset classes for over 25 years. We act for national and regional banks across the GCC on a range of domestic and cross-border transactions. We also have extensive experience of debt capital market matters (particularly structuring and advising on sukuk).

Our team and heads of office

Our busy team is co-led by Partners Nasreen Alissa and Bilal Kahlon, who are both independently recognised and awarded as leading lawyers in Saudi Arabia. They have extensive experience working with local and international clients across major corporate transactions and banking and finance matters in the Kingdom.

"Our firm’s longstanding presence across Bahrain, UAE, and Oman, combined with our deep international expertise, uniquely positions us to deliver tailored, high-impact legal solutions that support our clients’ ambitions and contribute to the Kingdom’s ongoing development." – Bilal Kahlon