Saudi sukuk: Magic circle firm Allen & Overy, alongside its affiliate, Saudi firm Abdulaziz AlGasim, advised Saudi Electricity Company on a $1.87bn (£1.13bn) sukuk issue, believed to be the largest sukuk issue of 2009. HSBC Saudi Arabia and Samba Capital were joint lead managers on the deal, and were advised by US firm White & Case and its associate office in Riyadh, Law Office of Mohammed A. Al Sheikh.

School’s in: City firm Nabarro advised Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council on a £1bn scheme to replace Barnsley’s 13 secondary schools with nine advanced learning centres. National firm Bevan Brittan advised the council’s private sector joint venture partners, Building Schools for the Future Investments and Barnsley Partnership for Learning.

Housing bonds: City firm Trowers & Hamlins advised The Housing Finance Corporation, a finance provider for registered social landlords, on a £191m bond issue. Allen & Overy advised a number of housing associations on raising funds through the bond. Housing association bonds are becoming increasingly popular, with £1.2bn worth of bonds issued so far this year.

Mining expertise: City firm Herbert Smith advised Japanese Sumitomo Corporation on securing additional financing for the Ambatovy nickel project in Madagascar, along with two of its joint venture partners, Korea Resources Corporation (Kores) and SNC-Lavalin. The three will make loans to the fourth partner, Sherritt, to fund Sherrit’s share in the project in exchange for a portion of Sherritt's equity interest in the venture. US firm Baker & McKenzie advised Kores, City firm Simmons & Simmons advised SNC-Lavalin, North American firm Torys advised Sherritt and US firm Sullivan & Cromwell advised the ­financiers.

Profitable field: US firm Shearman & Sterling advised Abu Dhabi National Oil Company on a $10bn (£6bn) joint venture to develop the Shah gas field in the south of the United Arab Emirates, alongside energy conglomerate ConocoPhillips. The Shah field will generate an estimated one billion cubic feet of raw gas and 10,000 tonnes of sulphur a day. ConocoPhillips was advised by its in-house team.