"Memery Crystal has expert knowledge of small-mid cap work."
Legal 500, 2025Israel Desk: An International Presence
Israel is emerging as a major economic player in the Middle East. It has always been a geographical crossroads between three continents, and now is fulfilling its economic and financial potential in this regard. At Memery Crystal, we are well-placed to serve a range of clients based in Israel or with strong Israeli connections, in wide ranging sectors from technology to natural resources. Our team includes fluent Hebrew and Arabic speakers.
Your teams
Daniel TunkelPartner, Head of Financial Regulation
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Nick DavisSenior Partner, Corporate Partner
Nicola KravitzPartner, Head of Real Estate
Matthew LindsayPartner, Joint Head of Banking & Finance
Carl RohslerPartner, Head of Commercial, IP and Technology
Why Israel?
The IMF calculated Israel’s US Dollar GDP for 2018 at in excess of $365 billion – placing it level with or ahead of countries like Singapore, Colombia, Hong Kong, Ireland, Denmark and 17 more of the 32 members of the European Economic Area.
Israel has always been well regarded for its defence technology and has had a pivotal role in the world’s diamond trading; but recent years have identified Israel a significant part of the world’s technology boom, and more recently, colossal supplies of offshore natural gas have been found under the Eastern Mediterranean Sea that Israel among others will be set to exploit. Additionally, Israel boasts numerous ultra-high-net-worth individuals and family offices who are increasingly looking for opportunities to deploy their wealth in Western capital markets.
Memery Crystal’s Israel Desk looks to bring all manner of Israeli business and entrepreneurship to the London markets, to raise capital and to market their innovative solutions into the UK and markets beyond. We also seek to assist Israeli investors with the commitment of their capital to assets in the UK (chiefly in the real estate market but also in corporate acquisitions). We will represent Israeli individuals and corporates seeking to litigate and resolve disputes in the English courts, as well as in international arbitration proceedings.
Memery Crystal and Israel
The firm’s pre-eminence in UK equity capital markets transactional work makes us a go-to choice when an Israeli company is looking for an exit to market or a public capital raise in the UK.
Once, the compelling argument was for an Israeli corporate success story to list on NASDAQ, and some still do; but the need for companies to raise capital where their main markets are located means that London (facing Europe as a whole) is often a more logical choice. It also generally offers a less expensive and less over-regulated route to market.
We can also support the aspirations of Israeli businesses and investors in a range of other ways. These include:
- Pre-IPO financing (indeed, Series A or even earlier rounds), particularly where this involves taking advantage of the UK’s Enterprise Investment Scheme tax shelter that is so well suited to financing of young tech businesses.
- Commercial, employment and related advice to Israeli businesses looking to set up in the UK.
- Advice in relation to participation in the UK’s regulated financial services markets – increasingly relevant to Israel’s developing fin-tech sector.
- Real estate transactions (both residential and commercial) for Israeli investors in the UK market. The firm are ranked for their real estate work in the latest edition of the Israel Desks League Tables.
- Litigation and arbitration, contentious representation for Israelis needing to resolve disputes before the English courts and in international arbitration proceedings.
- Wealth and tax planning advice for individuals moving from Israel or having connections to Israel and the UK.
Memery Crystal's presence in Israel
Members of the team are in Israel for a variety of reasons, no less often than once every four weeks or so. Flying time from London being under five hours means that a special purpose or urgent visit is simple to arrange.
Key Contacts
- Daniel Tunkel – A specialist in financial regulation and investment fund law, Daniel has cultivated a following among Israeli financial and FinTech clients looking for advice on UK regulation and investment. He is a near-fluent speaker of Hebrew and visits Israel monthly.
- Nick Davis – Senior Partner and a mainstay of the firm’s equity capital markers practice, Nick has acted for or in relation to Israeli flotations on AIM and the London Main Market.
- Daniel Abrahams – Head of the firm’s Real Estate practice, Daniel has a number of Israeli clients who invest in the UK real estate market.
- Nicola Kravitz – Nicola heads the firm’s Real Estate Private Client team, and works with a number of HNW and family office clients in relation to investment chiefly into UK residential property and its development.
Recent matters
Our partners have previously advised or continue to advise:
- On IPOs for Israeli companies including Telit Communications, Orpak Systems and Tescom Software Systems Testing.
- An international consortium including Z.C. Ronogil Investments on the £90m+ acquisition of The Relay Building in Aldgate, London.
- Hetz Partners, a £20m high-tech Israeli fund, on general UK jurisdiction advice.
- Israel crowd funders OurCrowd and ExitValley on establishment of UK operations.
- Information security company CyberArk on a wide range of UK employment matters.