Akbar Sher Khan
Corporate Commercial
E: Akbarsher.Khan@kingsley-wood.com
Akbar is a dual-qualified solicitor, admitted to the New York Bar in 2010 and in England & Wales in 2016. He joins Kingsley Wood as a Partner in 2026 with over a decade of experience advising entrepreneurs, investors and growing businesses on the transactions and decisions that define their companies.
Akbar holds an MBA from Imperial College Business School, where he studied on a scholarship and graduated with the school’s Entrepreneurship Award.
Beyond his legal career, Akbar also co-founded and ran an agri-tech business in India, bringing a rare commercial depth to his legal practice that clients find invaluable.
about
Akbar takes a hands-on approach to every matter, managing files from instruction through to completion and remaining closely involved at every stage. He is known for being accessible and direct — clients tend to call him not just when something goes wrong, but when they’re thinking something through and want a trusted sounding board.
His practice covers the full range of corporate and commercial work: acquisitions and disposals, shareholder arrangements and joint ventures, equity investment and venture funding, secured and unsecured lending, commercial contracts of all kinds, commercial leasing, and shareholder disputes.
He has a strong interest in advising on UK–India transactions and has particular insight into what it takes to structure deals that work across both markets. Akbar understands at first-hand what it feels like to sign a significant contract, navigate a dispute, or take on investment for the first time.
That experience shapes the way he advises — practically, commercially and with a clear sense of what clients are actually trying to achieve.
Recent Matters
my work
- Acted for a US-based micro-VC fund on a £1 million equity investment into a UK consumer health company, preparing and negotiating share subscription agreement, shareholders’ agreement, founder employment agreements and warrant documentation.
- Advised a high-net-worth individual on an £800,000 secured lending transaction into a UK residential property SPV, secured by a debenture over company assets, providing end-to-end transactional support and advising on corporate governance.
- Advised on a £1 million cross-border unsecured loan between a UK holding company and a French SPV for the acquisition of commercial and residential property in France, drafting condition precedents and flexible repayment provisions to protect the client’s interests as lender.
- Acted in a dispute concerning beneficial ownership of sale proceeds from the sale of a £2.65 million hotel, advising on legal position and negotiating a deed of settlement that enabled a time sensitive sale to proceed while securing undertakings to retain funds pending final account reconciliation.
- Acted for a food and beverage client launching a pop-up café at Somerset House, negotiating heads of terms for a turnover-based lease and associated documents, and subsequently negotiating a five-year lease following a successful trading period.
- Advised a UK and EU distributor of a Canadian confectionery brand on IP risks arising from an informal distribution arrangement, formalising the relationship through an exclusive UK and EU distribution agreement and negotiating a letter of intent.
- Advised an investor communications consultancy on a cross-border partnership agreement with a US firm, negotiating commission structures, regulatory risk allocation, IP ownership, exclusivity provisions, data protection and restrictive covenants.
- Acted for a high-net-worth individual on the transfer of business interests pursuant to a family consent order, including two private companies and an LLP, preparing all transfer documentation and ensuring proper corporate approvals and Companies House filings
Interest
about me
Akbar was born in London but spent his formative years in India, giving him genuine roots and an active professional network across both countries.
Fluent in English and Hindi, he is a natural point of contact for UK–India clients and their wider families. He is personable and direct, and known for bringing the same level of care and attention to a first conversation as he does to a complex transaction.
He comes from a family with a proud sporting history: his grandfather won gold for India in hockey at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and his father was part of the India squad that won the Hockey World Cup in 1975.
Outside of work, Akbar is a keen traveler, and an enthusiastic cricket and hockey player himself.
Awards & Experience
my expertise
- Solicitor of England & Wales (SRA ID: 455092)
- Attorney at Law, State of New York
- MBA (Merit, Imperial College Business School – scholarship recipient; Entrepreneurship Award)
- Legal Practice Course, Distinction (The University of Law)
- LLB Law with Honours, 2:1 (Queen Mary University of London)
