Licensing
Sector-by-sector licensing counsel — from application to ongoing compliance.
Licensing that keeps operations moving.
Getting and keeping the right licences is often the critical path for growth. We advise on sector-specific licensing across financial services, energy, communications, mining, and beyond.
Our team combines regulatory depth with disciplined project management — turning licensing from a bottleneck into a well-run workstream.
- Sector licence applications
- Renewals & variations
- Ongoing compliance obligations
- Licence transfers on M&A
How we approach this practice.
We navigate the licensing regimes governing regulated activity — from payment service providers and digital credit providers to energy projects under EPRA and environmental compliance under NEMA.
Our approach is to design products and projects that meet statutory requirements from the outset, rather than retrofitting compliance after launch.
Licensing across the sectors we know.
CBK, CMA, IRA, RBA, and FRC licensing across regulated financial services.
EPRA, mining, petroleum, and downstream licensing and permit strategy.
CAK licensing for telecommunications, media, and postal service operators.
County, sectoral, and cross-sector business permit navigation.
Licence transfers, change-of-control approvals, and pre-M&A licensing diligence.
Managing and varying licence conditions, and defending against revocation.
A disciplined path from concept to close.
- 01Commercial Alignment
We start with the commercial map — economics, control, contributions, and outcome — before drafting a single clause.
- 02Structural Blueprint
A structuring memo sets out the vehicle, jurisdiction, tax treatment, and regulatory path, benchmarked against comparable matters.
- 03Documentation
Bespoke documentation drafted as an integrated instrument set — designed to survive later scrutiny.
- 04Approvals & Closing
Regulator engagement, condition-precedent management, and a disciplined closing choreography.
- 05Stewardship
Ongoing counsel through the life of the matter — governance, calendaring, and dispute-prevention.
Selected licensing mandates.
A partial view of the mandates we have advised on — sanitised for confidentiality, but indicative of the scale and complexity of our work.
- 01
Secured a novel fintech licence for a global payments provider entering the Kenyan market.
- 02
Advised on the licensing pathway for a renewable energy project across generation and distribution.
- 03
Represented a telecoms operator on a licence variation following a corporate transaction.
- 04
Managed change-of-control approvals across five regulators on a multi-sector M&A deal.
Partners leading the practice.
Where this work connects.
Considering a matter? Speak with the partner who will run it.
A confidential, no-obligation conversation with a partner — usually within one business day.