Expertise
Covering regulated financial services, transactions, private wealth and the disputes that follow.
All expertise
Partner
Neelesh's practice focuses on financial services, capital markets, investment funds, securities, structured finance and corporate advisory matters.
Neelesh is a Partner at Celerity Prime. His practice focuses on financial services, capital markets, investment funds, securities, structured finance and corporate advisory matters.
Neelesh was awarded the Lord Templeman Scholarship and completed his Bachelor of Laws at the University of the West of England. He subsequently obtained an LLM in International Business Law with Distinction from Ghent University in Belgium. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales by the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple in July 2022, having completed his Bar examinations while working full-time.
Prior to joining Celerity Prime, Neelesh worked at BLC Robert & Associates in the Financial Services and Capital Markets team. During his time at BLC, he advised on the establishment of investment fund structures, applications for financial services licences before the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius, cross-border debt issuances, and listings on both the Development & Enterprise Market and the Official List of the Stock Exchange of Mauritius.
Neelesh subsequently joined MCB Capital Markets, the investment banking arm of the largest banking group in Mauritius. There, he was closely involved in commercial and financial negotiations, working alongside corporate finance advisory teams on a range of capital markets and structured finance matters. His experience includes debt issuances, including the first private placement of sustainability-linked bonds in Mauritius.
He also advised entities within the MCB Capital Markets cluster, including the brokerage business in relation to the establishment of market-making activities, the asset management arm in connection with digitalisation strategies, and special purpose vehicles within the group in relation to the issuance of credit-linked notes.
Neelesh brings to the firm a strong combination of legal, commercial and capital markets experience, allowing him to advise clients with a practical understanding of both transactional execution and market-facing considerations.
Outside his legal practice, Neelesh enjoys cooking and exploring different cuisines.
Representative experience
Matters from the firm’s practice in Neelesh’s areas, described in anonymised form.
Acted as lead counsel on the establishment of a USD 1 billion note programme. Prepared note programme documentation for a protected cell company, including noteholder arrangements, placing agent documentation, investor-facing terms and issue mechanics.
Assisted with the establishment of a Mauritius closed-ended Professional Collective Investment Scheme structured as a private limited life company and feeder vehicle into an Indian SEBI-registered Category II Alternative Investment Fund.
Assisted with investment dealer licence applications and related regulatory submissions to the Financial Services Commission, including preparation and review of supporting application documents.
Assisted with the establishment of a Mauritius variable capital company and related sub-fund structure, including preparation of regulatory documentation, governance provisions, sub-fund segregation mechanics, constitutional documents and FSC application materials.
Insights
A VCC gives promoters a single platform with segregated sub-funds. The segregation is only as strong as the constitutional drafting, the inter-vehicle arrangements and the operational discipline behind it.
7 min read