Navigating a changing world

Teyliom Hospitality, an African hotel group, raised EUR 45m from three development finance institutions in 2019. CMS advised Teyliom on the financing, which is for the construction and development of hotels in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Niger and Senegal. The UK’s CDC, DEG from Germany and AfricInvest will provide the funding.

Teyliom Hospitality, the hotel and hospitality arm of Teyliom Group, founded by Senegalese entrepreneur Yérim Habib Sow, was launched in 2009 and opened its first hotel, Radisson Blu Hotel Dakar, in Senegal. It then established the Mangalis Hotel Group, which now operates a range of business, midscale and economy hotels across Central and West Africa. These three business streams operate under the Noom, Seen and Yaas brands, mainly in the francophone African states of Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Niger and Senegal. 

Much of francophone Africa falls under the Organisation pour l’Harmonisation en Afrique du Droit des Affaires (OHADA), a system of corporate law adopted by 17 West and Central African jurisdictions. 

As part of the CMS Africa organisation, CMS has a historical presence in Algeria, Angola and Morocco, and a team dedicated to the francophone Africa region. The firm is expanding its presence across the continent. Kenyan and South African firms were the latest to join CMS in 2019. 

Pierre Marly, a Paris-based partner and Chairman of CMS Africa, said, “CMS Africa has the genuine ability to combine our local and international experts to create the best team for every situation. We have 120 lawyers dedicated to Africa, practising in all the main areas of law and benefiting when needed from the resources and support of over 4,800 other lawyers spread across 70 offices worldwide. They have direct access to an enormous wealth of expertise and knowledge, deep technical resources and high-quality training to deliver the highest quality services on the continent. With francophone, Arabic, lusophone and anglophone offerings, CMS can deliver seamless services in all the key jurisdictions of the continent, in all the sectors our clients work in and in the languages our clients speak.”