Michalis Michaelides Consultant Corporate & Commercial Solicitor

Michalis is a dual-qualified finance, corporate and commercial lawyer, admitted as a Solicitor in England & Wales and an Attorney in South Africa. With over 10 years’ experience across South Africa and London, he has built a strong international practice advising businesses on a broad range of corporate, finance and commercial matters.

He began his career in private practice at leading firms before moving in-house. He has also advised UK start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs on a part-time basis, supporting businesses with their corporate, commercial and financing requirements at various stages of growth.

Areas of expertise

Commercial

• Commercial contracting
• Joint ventures and partnerships
• Technology and licensing agreements
• Business terms and trading arrangements
• Employment and director agreements
• Data protection and compliance

Corporate

• Share and asset purchase agreements
• Corporate structuring
• Shareholders’ and founders’ agreements
• Share issuances and vesting arrangements
• Corporate governance

Finance

• Loan agreements and financing arrangements
• Debt and bond issuances
• Security agreements

Negotiation assistance and settlement agreements

• Founder, shareholder and director disputes

Approach to work and clients

Michalis takes a pragmatic, efficient and outcomes-focused approach to his work, first seeking to understand each client’s legal and commercial objectives before providing tailored advice designed to achieve the best possible outcome in the most commercially effective manner.

He particularly enjoys working closely with clients to solve complex legal and commercial issues and prides himself on being approachable, practical and easy to work with, while consistently delivering high-quality legal advice. His aim is to act as a genuine strategic partner to businesses, adding value beyond purely legal input through commercial insight, analytical thinking and practical problem-solving.

Career highlights 

Notable experience includes:

• Advising banks and borrowers participating in South Africa’s renewable energy independent power producer programme on the financing of renewable energy developments
• Acting as part of the team advising Lazari Investments Limited on the financing of the £277.5 million acquisition of 23 Savile Row in London
• Supporting a number of UK start-ups with incorporation, structuring and investment matters. This includes assisting South African fintech business Street Wallet with its incorporation and structure, supporting its successful $350,000 seed funding round and subsequent acquisition of competitor Digitip to expand its presence within South Africa’s informal economy.

Alongside his legal qualifications, Michalis also holds a degree in economics and a master’s degree in commercial law. He qualified as a Data Protection Practitioner (PC.dp) in 2022 and speaks Afrikaans, with conversational proficiency in Greek.

Outside of work, he has a strong passion for nature and wildlife conservation and hopes to continue providing pro bono support to wildlife and environmental organisations, particularly across South Africa and the wider African continent.