[Interview] Peter Petrou, Founder, Aspen Morris Solicitors, London
Peter Petrou is, in addition to being founder and managing partner at Aspen Morris, Vice-President of the American International Commercial Arbitration Court, Global Legal Counsel to the World Leaders Forum Dubai and European Legal Counsel to Africa 2.0, and board member of the international organization, Property Investor Africa.
His interview with Africa Business Communities:
Would you please introduce Aspen Morris?
Aspen Morris is a full service, award winning law firm based in London in the United Kingdom, with a strong international global network. I founded the Law Firm in 2012 and in May 2015, we were recognized for our outstanding international work and connections and we were awarded the prestigious "UK Law Firm of the Year for International Law" at the Global Corporate LiveWire Awards 2015.
Aspen Morris has also been recognized by the European Magazine and has been named to the "European Fast 50" which is a list of the most dynamic and entrepreneur companies in Europe.
In which industries does Aspen Morris operate and who are your clients?
We undertake a significant amount of International work, Real Estate work, Litigation and Company and Commercial work. Our clients range from high net worth individuals to large corporates who are predominantly based in Africa, Europe and the Middle-East.
What are the USP’s of your business?
Our USP is that we have a very strong international network of law firms and other advisors that we work closely with. We are therefore not only able to undertake legal work in a variety of different jurisdictions for our clients, but we are also able to introduce our clients to deals and transactions globally.
A recent example is that we introduced one of our European clients to a Real Estate transaction in West Africa. This added huge value to our client, as not only were we able to assist with sourcing the opportunity for our client, we were also able to undertake the legal work.
It is the firm's philosophy to not only undertake the legal work for our clients, but to also take a commercial and business approach and to speak to our global network and assist our clients to source solid opportunities to help grow their businesses.
We have therefore received a large amount of referrals from our existing client base due to the way we add value to their businesses.
What did you do before starting Aspen Morris?
Prior to launching my company, I worked at a leading US Law Firm in their Capital Markets Department and then moved to an International Law Firm, where I worked within their Real Estate Department.
During my time working for these International organisations, I was able to build substantial contacts and connections and I felt that I wanted to focus more on business opposed to the legal sector. So I launched Aspen Morris in order to fill a niche in the market, which was to assist clients not only on the legal side, but also on the business side and to assist them with growing their businesses via providing them with key introductions to companies, individuals and opportunities.
I am also better able to manage my time more effectively by running my own business as I have a strong team who are an exceptional group of lawyers, and can assist me in the event I am called on short notice to attend meetings, domestic or international.
What other companies/organizations/activities have you founded or are a part of?
I am the Vice-President of the American International Commercial Arbitration Court, which is a court based in the US that specializes in Arbitration disputes. I sit on the Advisory Board of an organization called Property Investor Africa, which aims to bring investment into the Real Estate sector in Africa and I am an ambassador to the UK Cyprus Enterprise Council – the Council promotes business between the UK and Cyprus.
I am Global Legal Counsel to the World Leaders Forum Dubai and European Legal Counsel to Africa 2.0, which is a pan-African civil society organisation providing a platform for emerging and established African leaders to drive forward the transformation of Africa. The Advisory Board of Africa 2.0 contains former Presidents and leading business figures that have undertaken a significant amount of work in Africa and have been instrumental in driving and promoting Africa.
What’s the best part about doing business in/with Africa?
Africa is a continent that many describe as the "last frontier". Other continents are no longer offering the types of returns that companies are getting by undertaking business in Africa.
Over the past 3 years, I have seen an influx of clients looking at doing business in Africa and many have changed their international strategies from the Middle-East and Far-East and are concentrating their strategy on Africa. This can be seen by several blue chip companies increasing their marketing budgets when it comes to increasing their profile in Africa.
The best part about doing business in Africa is that you come across some ground breaking transactions. For example there are certain transactions which have been structured for the first time in Abu Dhabi or Dubai and these structures are then put in place in Africa. Seeing these types of structures and transactions implemented in Africa for the first time shows that the continent is taking solid steps forwards to replicate the success of other continents such as the Middle-East.
Do you think women entrepreneurs typically have a harder time accessing loans through traditional bank channels?
I think that ten years ago a female entrepreneur would have experienced more problems in obtaining a loan through traditional bank channels, however I do not believe this is the case anymore. I know several women in Africa who have set up businesses and have been able to access loans via traditional bank channels.
There have been women entrepreneurs in Africa such as Oluwatoyin Sanni, the Group CEO of United Capital PLC; Wendy Luhabe, Chairman of the Women Investment Fund; Dr. Eleni Gabre-Madhin, CEO & Founder of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange; Rosalind Kainyah MBE, Managing Director of Kina Advisory, to name a few, who have contributed hugely to showing that women entrepreneurs are more than able to compete on a business level with their male counterparts.
These female entrepreneurs have been exceptional role models to up and coming women entrepreneurs and many women entrepreneurs are using these types of role models as a blue print to replicate their success.
What can you say about the targets, plans and ambitions of Aspen Morris for the rest of 2015?
We are looking to build on our recent awards and recognitions and are aiming to continue to provide a first class service to our clients and also further assist our clients with expanding their business operations throughout Africa.
Do you believe Social Media and the Internet to be a plus to the business environment, as it applies to your industry?
Social Media and the internet is a huge plus to the business environment; it is almost impossible to imagine going back to the days when social media and the internet did not exist.
We rely on the internet in order to keep in contact with our clients and when we are unable to travel to meet our clients at short notice, we are able to host a conference via Skype, which saves time on traveling.
Social Media is not only important in the business domain; many believe the Nigerian elections were partially won by social media. Many results from various states were already transmitted on social media prior to them being recorded centrally, which meant there was a high level of scrutiny.
You can also see the emphasis and importance large corporations place on social media as many hire a specific team to deal solely with promoting their business online.
www.twitter.com/aspenmorrislaw
Africa Business Communities is conducting a series of interviews with CEO's and high-end professionals from and/or operating in Africa. Are you interested in an interview? Please send an e-mail to Andrea Ayemoba: andrea@africabusinesscommunities.com