Sarah Egbu

"Sarah has a strong understanding of the client & the underlying commercial views & is able to clearly articulate to us and to the other side any concerns we may have on a transaction." - Legal 500

Partner, Finance / Head of London Office

Expertise

Sarah Egbu leads Addleshaw Goddard’s London office, the firm’s global headquarters. Her own practice specialism is real estate finance.

Sarah advises lenders and borrowers on both investment and development finance transactions spanning the full range of real estate asset classes, including operational assets such as hotels, leisure facilities, and student accommodation. Sarah’s clients include UK and international banks, as well as private equity sponsors, investment and asset managers, corporates and family offices. She has significant experience supporting lenders and sponsors from the Middle East investing in UK and European real estate, advising on both conventional and Shariah-compliant debt and equity structures.

As Head of the London office, Sarah works closely with Managing Partner Andrew Johnston and Senior Partner Aster Crawshaw to deliver the firm’s 2030 vision and strategic objectives.

Alongside her leadership responsibilities, Sarah is a Real Estate Finance Partner with extensive experience advising both lenders and borrowers on investment and development finance transactions across all real estate asset classes. Her expertise covers operational assets such as hotels, leisure facilities, and student accommodation. Sarah’s clients include UK and international banks, debt funds, private equity sponsors, investment and asset managers, corporates, and family offices. She is particularly recognised for her work supporting lenders and sponsors from the Middle East investing in UK and European real estate, with specialist knowledge of both conventional and Shariah-compliant debt and equity structures.

Experience

Advising Kamco Invest in relation to the conventional and Shariah-compliant funding of its acquisition of three Grade A UK regional offices in partnership with M7 Real Estate.
Acting for Bayerische Landesbank in relation to the increase in its debt facility to Supermarket Income REIT by £34.8m in connection with the acquisition of the Tesco Extra store in Newmarket, Suffolk for £61m by the REIT.
Acting for a middle eastern bank in relation to an £85m investment facility to a middle eastern investor secured against a central London landmark hotel.
Acting for Qatar National Bank in relation to a murabaha financing of a West London BTR development for a Qatari sponsor.
Acting for a UK clearing bank in connection with the £33m financing of the acquisition of an interest in a large airport hotel.
Advising NatWest on an £82.5 million development to investment green loan to the O'Shea Group for the delivery of “Portal,” a landmark 36-storey Build to Rent scheme in North Acton, within the dynamic Old Oak and Park Royal Opportunity Area, London’s largest regeneration zone and a key focus for the capital’s sustainable growth, housing, and employment agendas.
Advising Aareal Bank on a £80m refinancing for Trinova and Stars REI of two prime London office assets at 103 Mount Street and 33 Kingsway.
Advising Emirates NBD (Bank) P.J.S.C, London Branch in relation to a £140,000,000 combined conventional and Islamic finance solution. ENBD provided the conventional facility and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) provided a Murabaha facility to Union Property for Paddington Citi View, a 353-bed purpose-built student accommodation asset in central London.
Advising QIP in relation to the refinancing of six of its UK PBSA investment assets with Aareal Bank.
Advising Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank on a £66 million green senior secured development facility for AustralianSuper to support the development of a state-of-the-art, 454-bed purpose-built student accommodation scheme in Bristol's Temple Quarter, a major regeneration zone.
Advising Supermarket Income REIT on the £445m refinancing of all of its unsecured loan facilities. The facilities were provided by Barclays, ING, RBSI, HSBC, ABN Amro and Lloyds.
Advising NatWest in connection with the £49m refinance of the Chewton Glen Hotel & Spa.
Acting for Puma Property Finance on a £12.5m facility to Rellish to finance the development of a 140-bedroom Hampton by Hilton hotel in Ashford, Kent.
Acting for a middle eastern bank in connection with the £88m refinancing and refurbishment of a portfolio of properties (comprising office, retail and residential) in central London for a middle eastern family office.