Christopher Simpson joined O'Neal Webster in 2010 and his practice focuses primarily on Banking and Finance, and Corporate and Commercial law where he advises a client base of leading financial institutions, corporations and law firms on all aspects of corporate finance including bilateral and syndicated loans, bond issues, project finance, property financing, joint ventures, initial public offerings, private placements, mergers, arrangements, corporate restructuring, project finance, special purpose vehicles for tax or corporate structures, investment funds and general aspects of banking and corporate law.

Christopher is regularly instructed by leading law firms, financial institutions and corporations on high value banking and corporate transactions. Over the course of his career, Christopher has been involved in numerous IPOs, including on AIM, TSX, NASDAQ, SGX and the LSE. He has also been involved in ground breaking deals including one of the first ever court approved corporate arrangement schemes in the BVI and most recently he was involved in one of the largest single asset real estate financings in China.

Education
Christopher is a graduate of the University of the West Indies and the Norman Manley Law School. He is also a graduate of the University of London where he obtained a LLM in International Business Law. Christopher was admitted in the British Virgin Islands in 2001 and was registered as a foreign lawyer in Hong Kong in 2006.

Significant Accomplishments
Notable deals:
Christopher Simpson has been involved in major BVI deals, including one of the first ever court approved corporate arrangements in the BVI. Legal500, 2011

Acting as BVI counsel to Mercantil Colpatria, S.A. in connection with its sale to The Bank of Nova Scotia of a 51% stake in Banco Colpatria, one of Colombia's leading banks. Mercantil Colpatria retains 48.7% ownership of the bank. The sale was satisfied through a combination of US$500 million in cash and 10,000,000 common shares of The Bank of Nova Scotia. The Bank of Nova Scotia is Canada's third largest bank and the acquisition was its largest international acquisition to date. Mercantil Colpatria is a conglomerate whose business operations in Colombia includes the banking, construction, insurance, pension fund and mining sectors.

Acting as BVI counsel to Mercantil Colpatria, S.A. in connection with its acquisition from General Electric Capital Corporation (GE) of a 49.77% stake in Banco Colpatria, one of Colombia's leading banks. The deal was partially financed by UBS and a syndicate of banks.

Acting as BVI counsel to Taylor Wimpey PLC in connection with its reorganization following its sale of Scottsdale home builder, Taylor Morrison and its Canadian sister company, Monarch Homes to a consortium of investment funds, including JHI Investment Inc, TPG Capital and Oaktree Capital for US$1.15 billion.

Acting as BVI counsel to Prime Glory Management Limited on its sale of a residential property in Hong Kong at Severn Road (one of the most expensive residential areas in the world) for HK$280,000,000. The property was sold to China LWM Property Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sino-Tech International Holdings Limited (a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange). The



Professional Activities and Experience
Prior to joining O'Neal Webster, Christopher practised at Harney Westwood & Riegels for several years in both their BVI and Hong Kong offices.

• Investment Fund Managers "Brexit" to the BVI

  By Christopher Simpson |January 2017

• Onshore vs Offshore – Is There Really a Battle?

  By Christopher Simpson |August 2016

Additional ArticlesGlobal Capital Markets (2012) Securities and investment business regulations in the British Virgin Islands.

China Business Law Journal (2012) Offshore Structures in China Business

Financier Worldwide Magazine (2012) BVI Legal and Regulatory Framework insight for offshore private equity investors.

Several articles and guides on Mondaq, Lexology and Legal 500