+852 2573 5000
Practice Areas
Jurisdictions
- Hong Kong (1996)
- England and Wales (1987) (non-practising)
Awards
Tim Drew
Partner
Tim has more than thirty years’ experience as a corporate lawyer, the last 26 of which have been spent in Hong Kong. Tim is head of the Corporate and Commercial department and is recognised to be “a very experienced commercial all-rounder” and a “solid and go-to practitioner” by Chambers Asia. Clients value Tim’s extensive experience and regularly seek his counsel on commercial strategy and business development.
Tim has a well-established network of European, US and Asia Pacific-based law firms who regularly refer new client mandates. Clients include financial institutions, multinational corporations, large corporates, small and medium-sized enterprises, private clients and entrepreneurs across a range of sectors with a particular focus on financial and professional services, retail, real estate and food and beverage.
Tim advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, sale and purchase of businesses, joint ventures, investment and shareholders agreements, private placements, corporate reorganisation and amalgamations, due diligence investigations, distribution, agency and franchise / licensing arrangements, manufacturing and supply agreements, terms of business and other commercial arrangements.
Tim also advises private and corporate clients on immigration matters including work and investment visa applications and share ownership/incentive schemes.
Key cases
- Advising Universal Pictures on the Hong Kong aspects of the promotional activities of its blockbuster movie Skyscraper, including the regulatory and commercial aspects of the public climb of the Four Seasons Hotel in Central Hong Kong by Alain Robert.
- Advised high net worth individual in respect of a due diligence of two Hong Kong companies for the purposes of investing in the target holding company.
- Advised the owners of a Hong Kong brewery business on the sale of their assets.
- Advised a listed German printing and technology company on setting up a joint venture with a Chinese partner to develop and market a new web-to-box platform for the Chinese market.
- Advising on the sale of one of the largest privately-owned catering businesses in Hong Kong.
- Advising Hong Kong-headquartered company on the preparation of pre-IPO restructuring documents and on the transferring of assets to a Cayman holding company.
- Advising a Hong Kong company on various financing contracts and agreements relating to a wind farm project in Chile.
- Advising founding shareholder of a Hong Kong corporate services business on the disposal of a majority controlling interest to a strategic investor.
- Assisting PRC distributor in various commercial matters including advising on advertising and promotional campaigns utilising online platforms; the delivery of products to Chinese clients and payment mechanisms; and the termination of distribution agreements with various distributors within the PRC.
- Advised investment company on the acquisition of a majority stake in an international confectionary manufacturer, a number of corporate restructuring steps and a secured acquisition and export financing arrangement with a Dutch bank.
Chambers and Partners 2023 notes: “Tim takes a highly commercial approach combined with a positive ‘can do’ attitude. Tim gets deals done and is a pleasure to work with. He is accessible and I can always get hold of him.” Further, “Tim has a good awareness of the potential commercial pitfalls we may face and always has a good solution for us.”
Legal 500 2023 states, “We have worked with Tim Drew and Carol Ling from Tanner De Witt. Both are excellent and professional lawyers, who were extremely on the ball and highly responsive” and “Tim Drew has deep experience in the market. He is a delight to work with and gets deals done. He has a way of cutting through complexity and making you feel that you are in very safe hands.”
Chambers Asia Pacific 2021 notes: Tim Drew has over two decades’ experience in the Hong Kong corporate market, and is considered by one source to be a “solid, and go-to” practitioner. He handles all manner of corporate and transactional mandates, including M&A, disposals and shareholders’ agreements.
Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2021 notes: ‘Tim Drew is reliable, responsive and flexible’ and he is ‘an experienced corporate lawyer who adapts to the needs of the client’.
Chambers Asia Pacific 2020 notes: Tim Drew advises both corporates and private clients on acquisitions and sales, corporate structuring and joint ventures. One market source describes him as “a very experienced commercial all-rounder.”
Chambers Asia Pacific 2019 notes: Tim Drew (Band 1 ranked lawyer) has attained a premier reputation for high-value corporate transactions, including M&A, joint ventures and corporate restructurings. He draws praise from clients for his responsiveness, with one stating: “He has strong experience and is always available and able to provide quick advice.”
Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2018 notes: Tim Drew is ‘responsive, experienced, pragmatic and client-friendly’.
Chambers Asia Pacific 2018 notes: Tim Drew is well known for advising local and international clients on commercial and corporate work, frequently instructed by German companies investing in the region. “I think he has a very sound judgement of commercial issues, he doesn’t over or under-engineer and he comes up with practical and commercial solutions,” one satisfied client notes, adding: “He is very experienced and you don’t have to wait much for an answer.”
Chambers Asia Pacific 2017 notes that Tim is “hands-on,” has a “brilliant perspective” and gives “high-quality advice.” He deals with a variety of matters, including private equity, M&A and capital markets work.
Asia Pacific Legal 500 2016 notes that Tim Drew has a ‘strong sense for the needs of the client’ and ‘sets the right tone in negotiations’.
Tim receives praise in Chambers Asia Pacific 2016 from clients for his “pragmatism and commerciality” in advising on the Hong Kong aspects of M&A across a range of industry sectors.
Professional memberships
- German Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
- Dutch Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
- International Bar Association
- The Law Society of Hong Kong
Other memberships
- Foreign Correspondents’ Club
