Partners

Brent Muckridge
Partner – EM Finance Consulting LLP
+ 44 7825 221 402 | + 1 781 492 4042 | email 

Brent’s expertise is in Strategy, Operations, Finance and Change Management mainly in the telecom, media, technology, gaming and related services sectors, within the emerging markets.

Brent was formerly the Chief Finance Officer for Wataniya Palestine, the second mobile operator in the West Bank. While in Palestine, Brent secured the company’’s first round of project finance that included local banks, international commercial banks and DFI’s. Prior to Wataniya, Brent was the Chief Operating Officer for Roshan, the largest mobile operator in Afghanistan. While at Roshan, Brent lead the company in completing two rounds of cross border commercial funding. Brent has held other telecom finance and operational roles in the USA (MediaOne/US West), Croatia (T-Com Hrvatski) and Poland (Era GSM). Brent lead the Era GSM €$650 m debt refinancing in 2000 as well as the €450 m bond offering in 1999.

Brent has lead transactions that have included simple corporate debt, high yield bonds, project financing, debt restructuring, private equity and working capital lines. Brent worked with other product and service firms to help develop financial projections and information memoranda and he has also led negotiations with private equity investors and lenders.

Brent holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Accounting from Johnson & Wales University.

Sophie Papasavva
Partner – EM Finance Consulting LLP
+44 7780 113 935 | email

Sophie’’s expertise lies in arranging structured, bespoke loan financings for borrowers operating in the emerging markets.

With a keen interest in the emerging markets, in 2005 Sophie joined Standard Bank Plc, first as telecoms, media and technology originator and later moving into the Loan Syndications & Sales team where she became a Director. This role gave Sophie the opportunity to diversify her knowledge into multiple industries including agribusiness, infrastructure, oil & gas and mining where she structured and syndicated loan financings ranging from simple bespoke bilaterals to complex syndicated deals, often drawing on the network of developmental and multi lateral lending institutions active in the same emerging market space. In the five years at Standard Bank Plc Sophie assumed responsibility for structuring, pricing and distributing multi-million dollar deals across Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and South East Asia, including having successfully concluded loan financings in some of the world’’s most extreme emerging markets such as Afghanistan, Republic of Congo, Palestine and Sierra Leone.

Prior to Standard Bank Plc, Sophie held the position of Vice President, Loan Sales within JPMorgan’’s Loan Capital Markets, where she developed a wide network of contacts with banks, private equity firms, funds and other investors with an interest in the loan product.

Sophie began her banking career in 1998 with CIBC World Markets plc, first as relationship manager in the telecoms team and later in restructurings. During that time Sophie consolidated her industry experience, mainly in mobile telecoms as well as in the cable and satellite television sectors, where she worked on multi-billion dollar financings throughout Western and Eastern Europe. With the opportunity to work in restructurings, Sophie gained invaluable experience in structuring and executing the loan product.

Sophie holds a BSc (Econ) from the University of London, with postgraduate studies in Political Sciences.