Projects and infrastructure

Our projects team has represented clients in many major national and international industrial and infrastructure projects.  Our experience spans the full project lifecycle, and encompasses a wide array of technologies and industries.

We represent clients across many industry sectors, including:

Power: Power generation projects based on fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas), and renewable resources including wind, solar, hydro and biomass.

Energy: Energy projects involving exploration, development, transportation (including pipelines), refinement, and storage of both natural and synthetic fuels including oil, natural gas, LPG, LNG, coal, and petroleum products, and waste recycling projects.

Natural Resources:  Mining and natural resource projects involving the development, extraction, transportation and processing of coal and metals, among others.

Communications:  Telecommunications and technology projects.

Infrastructure:  Infrastructure projects, including ports, terminal and storage facilities, social housing, sports arenas, hospitals and healthcare facilities, hotels and other leisure facilities.

We have our own offices in London, Dubai and Monaco and Moscow.  For international projects with both UK and US legal aspects we work in a joint projects team with Haynes and Boone LLP based on the strategic alliance between our firms.

Projects and infrastructure

Project development

We provide advice and assistance on: initial project planning and structuring (including tax planning); site acquisition; consent requirements and strategies; project bid proposals; structuring and documentation of special purpose project vehicles; drafting and negotiation of key project contracts (including supply, operating and maintenance, engineering, procurement and construction, and off-take agreements); the structuring of performance fees, carried interests and other incentive arrangements; advice on employment issues; and compliance with the requirements of relevant regulatory authorities including the Environment Agency, Competition Commission and industry regulators.

Project finance

Our work includes representation of developers, borrowers, lenders, insurers, investors, sponsors and contracting parties in projects utilising a broad spectrum of financing arrangements, including construction and term loan facilities; letter of credit facilities; mezzanine financings; capital markets issuances of debt and equity; securitisation and structured finance techniques; and the use of products and services from multilateral institutions, export credit agencies and national/regional development and aid agencies.

Mergers, acquisitions and privatisations

We represent developers, institutions, and other strategic and financial investors in bids for and acquisitions of project assets and infrastructure across a range of industries, particularly natural resources and ports. Our lawyers also played a key role in the UK Government's privatisation of the coal industry in Scotland.

Project restructuring

We represent debtors, sponsors, operators, lenders and acquirers in connection with the restructuring of distressed projects - whether the source of the problem stems from difficulties with contracting parties or other changes in economic, operating or financing conditions.  Our work involves all aspects of projects in difficulty, including enforcement or restructuring of key operating agreements (eg, supply and off-take contracts) and financing documentation, working hand-in-hand with our restructuring and insolvency team.

Projects and infrastructure

Port of Bristol – £600 million project to expand the UK's deep sea container capacity through the development of the Bristol Deep Sea Container Terminal in the Severn Estuary

Grundon Waste Management – joint venture project development of the £180 million Lakeside energy from waste plant

Clipper Windpower – strategic alliance with BP Alternative Energy for the joint development of 2,015 MW of wind project assets with a transaction value was in the order of US$4 billion

Greenko Group – development of a 75MW wind farm in the Indian state of Maharashtra under a technology partnership with GE

Brown & Root Energy Services – acquisition of 25 per cent equity interest in the Sangu field in the Bay of Bengal, offshore Bangladesh, as a joint development project with Cairn Energy and Holland Sea Search

GATX Corporation – construction of an aviation kerosene pipeline to supply jet fuel to Manchester International Airport, operated through Manchester Jetline Limited as a joint venture between GATX and Penspen

Scottish Resources Group – acquisition from HM Government of the Scottish coal interests upon the privatisation of the UK coal industry.  This was one of the most recent UK large-scale privatisations

£300 million investment by Eon in the proposed Porbury Dock Renewable Energy Plant and separate development by Helius Energy of a 100 MW biomass power plant

Projects and infrastructure